Nuclear Testing on Bikini Island By: Oumou Sowe

Where is Bikini Island?

– Bikini Island is also known as Bikini Atoll so you may see either one. Bikini Atoll is located on Marshall Island with 23 islands surrounding the Atoll. Marshall Island is located in the Pacific ocean in the middle of the two continents, North America and Asia. Nuclear testing started to occur on July 1, 1946. This was the first nuclear testing to happen after World War 2. The first bomb was caused by the United States and it led to many others. The first bomb was a fission bomb (another word for the atomic bomb)  used that was largely identical to the bomb used to attack Nagasaki, Japan in August of 1945.

– Nuclear testing is doing different experiments on weapons to determine how effective they are on people and the environment. Nuclear weapons can cause severe damage to its surroundings.

Testing on Bikini Atoll

– Testing on Bikini Atoll started 1 year after world war two. These nuclear testing affected the environment and the people surrounding the Atoll. The United States dropped the first nuclear testing on the Bikini Atoll on July 1, 1946. They had many different goals to help the country improve nuclear weapons. One goal was to see what will happen to warships when different nuclear weapons went off. These nuclear testing occurred in the ocean, on the ground, and in the air. SpongeBob SquarePants is based on the Bikini Atoll and in one of their episodes, it explains the effects on the animals in the water and the environment. Nuclear Testing on the Bikini Atoll was not a good impact on the World, it hurt many islands and only made nuclear weapons more dangerous.  

What were the effects on the people?

– Nuclear testing can cause many different diseases and infections to occur in the human body. Testing in Bikini Island caused the government to move the citizens to nearby islands so they won’t receive direct effects of the nuclear experiments. Testing still affected many citizens in the area. Nuclear testing can cause many of us to carry radioactive substances in our body that can increase the risk of developing cancer. Citizens of the nearby island experienced problems with itchiness, vomiting, and fatigue. The nuclear testing also caused problems with radiation cancer with the citizens in the Marshall Islands.  

What were the effects on the environment?

– The testing on bikini island also affected the ecosystem. These nuclear testing occurred in the water, on land, and also in the air. Testing in the water damaged the coral reefs and killed all of the animals. Surprisingly over the years, marine life in the Bikini Atoll is slowly growing. Coral reefs are now growing again in the islands. “However sixty-three years later, marine life in Bikini Atoll flourishes with coral reefs growing and fish plentiful. While there are no exact numbers on the number of species present today, we know of 126 coral species that existed before the tests and 42 that have not grown back(Marshall Islands Nuclear Testing and Health Effects)

Sources:

1. Eschner, Kat. “The Crazy Story of the 1946 Bikini Atoll Nuclear Tests.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 30 June 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/crazy-story-1946-bikini-atoll-nuclear-tests-180963833/.

2. “’Test Able’ on 1 July 1946 at Bikini Atoll: First Nuclear Test after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.” 1 March 1954 – Castle Bravo: CTBTO Preparatory Commission, www.ctbto.org/specials/testing-times/1-july-1946-test-able-bikini-atoll/.

3. “The Legacy of Nuclear Testing.” ICAN, www.icanw.org/the-facts/catastrophic-harm/the-legacy-of-nuclear-testing/.

4. Wireless Inductive Charging, http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2017/ph241/gutwald2/

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