image/webp | Jun 11, 2024 at 11:29 AM | 27 edition(s)

The second nuclear fission bomb, codenamed 'baker', was tested on the atoll of Bikini, part of the Marshall Islands group, by the US in1946. For baker, a bomb was detonated 27 metres under the sea and the resulting contamination spread widely, over all the observer boats, and presumably the crew. A member of the Atomic Energy Commission called it "the world's first nuclear disaster". US authorities evacuated Bikini and other islands prior to tests, but promised locals they could return afterwards. They were left on waterless Rongelap with only a month of food, and found a year later to be at the point of starvation. After testifying against Oppenheimer's security clearance in 1954, Edward Teller helped set up Lawrence Livermore National Labs, and continued the development of a fusion bomb in the US nuclear programme. A subsequent test series on Bikini called Bravo in 1954 created fallout that contaminated the island that Bikini residents had been evacuated to, along with other inhabited islands, and gradually spread around the globe. Rongelap Atoll was completely covered in fallout. People initially played in it and thought of it as snow. The US government set up a secret study of fallout effects on these people. About the death of an irradiated Japanese sailor, Teller commented "It's unreasonable to make such a big deal over the death of a fisherman". Twenty three bombs were exploded on Bikini Atoll and although testing stopped in 1958, it remains uninhabitable. Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: https://thebulletin.org/2021/03/after-75-years-its-time-to-clean-bikini/ ----- sources: Google Earth, Landsat / Copernicus ----- gif | 1000x633px | 480 frames | 121Meg minted for the Tezos Bake Sale supporting ziroh's bakery and the teia fountain. ----- twitter.com/stusontier | instagram.com/stusontierphoto