View source for Rongelap Atoll

{{Short description|Coral atoll in the Marshall Islands}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Rongelap Atoll
| image_name       = Rongelap Atoll - 2014-12-06 - Landsat 8 - 15m.png
| image_caption    = [[NASA]] [[Landsat 8]] image of Rongelap Atoll
| image_size       = 
| map = Marshall Islands
| map_caption = 
| location         = [[North Pacific]]
| coordinates      = {{coord|11|19|N|166|47|E|type:isle_region:MH|display=inline}}
| coastline_mi     =
| country          = {{flag|Marshall Islands}}
| archipelago      = [[Ralik Chain|Ralik]]
| total_islands    = 61
| area_km2         = 21
| elevation_m      = 3
| population       = 0<ref name="2021census">{{cite web |url=https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files/60/605c69d76a40195baa447b5a558b0e02.pdf?sv=2015-12-11&sr=b&sig=RZrL1TimAU9MUOOLm9554z3uDv2xXb%2BGtSq3l%2BPm5AM%3D&se=2025-01-31T17%3A26%3A17Z&sp=r&rscc=public%2C%20max-age%3D864000%2C%20max-stale%3D86400&rsct=application%2Fpdf&rscd=inline%3B%20filename%3D%22Marshall_Islands_2021_Census_Vol1_Table_report.pdf%22 |title=Republic of the Marshall Islands 2021 Census Report, Volume 1: Basic Tables and Administrative Report |date=May 30, 2023 |website=Pacific Community (SPC): Statistics for Development Division |publisher=[[Pacific Community]] |access-date=September 27, 2023}}</ref>
| population_as_of = 2021
| ethnic_groups    = [[Marshallese people|Marshallese]]
|image_map=Rongelap Atoll in Marshall Islands.svg
}}
[[File:Bravo fallout2.png|thumb|right |250px |Fallout plume of 1954 nuclear test extending over Rongelap Atoll (centre). "''Estimated total (accumulated) dose contours in [[Rad (unit)|rad]]s at 96 hours after the BRAVO test explosion.''"<ref>{{cite book|first1=Samuel|last1=Glasstone|first2=Philip J.|last2=Dolan|title=The Effects of Nuclear Weapons (3rd ed.)|year=1977|publisher=U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Atomic Energy Commission|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=65tBAAAAIAAJ|pages=436–437|isbn=978-0-318-20369-0 |quote=(page 436.) 9.107 A radiation dose of 700 rads over a period of 96 hours would probably prove fatal in the great majority of cases.}}</ref>]]
[[File:Rongelap.jpg|thumb|[[NASA]] astronaut photography image of Rongelap Atoll.]]
'''Rongelap Atoll''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɒ|ŋ|ɡ|əl|æ|p}} {{respell|RONG|gə-lap}}; {{langx|mh|Ron̄ļap}}, {{IPAc-mh|rwengwlhap}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.trussel2.com/MOD/LocR.htm#Roñḷap|title=Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index|website=www.trussel2.com}}</ref>) is an uninhabited [[coral atoll]] of 61 islands (or [[motu (geography)|motu]]s) in the [[Pacific Ocean]], and forms a [[legislative district]] of the [[Ralik Chain]] of the [[Marshall Islands]]. Its total land area is {{convert|8|sqmi|km2}}. It encloses a [[lagoon]] with an area of {{convert|1,000|sqmi|km2}}. It is historically notable for its close proximity to [[US]] [[hydrogen bomb]] tests in 1954, and was particularly devastated by [[fallout]] from the [[Castle Bravo]] test. The population asked the US (several times) to move them from Rongelap following the test due to high radiation levels, but with no success; so they asked global environmental group [[Greenpeace]] to help. The [[Rainbow Warrior (1955)|Rainbow Warrior]] made three trips moving the islanders, their possessions and over 100 tons of building materials to the island of [[Mejato]] in the [[Kwajalein Atoll]], 180 kilometers away.<ref name="green">{{cite web|url=https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/victories/rongelap-the-exodus-project/ |title=The evacuation of Rongelap |access-date= 2024-08-04}}</ref>

==History==
The Marshall Islands, of which Rongelap Atoll is a part, were first settled by [[Micronesians]].

The first sighting recorded by [[Europe]]ans was by [[Spanish people|Spanish]] [[navigator]] [[Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón|Álvaro de Saavedra]] on 1 January 1528.<ref>Brand, Donald D. ''The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations''. The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.121.</ref> Together with [[Utirik Atoll|Utirik]], [[Ailinginae Atoll |Ailinginae]] and [[Toke Atoll|Toke]] atolls, they were charted as ''Islas de los Reyes'' (Islands of the Three Wise Kings in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]) due to the proximity of [[Epiphany (holiday) |Epiphany]]. Fourteen years later it was visited by the Spanish expedition of [[Ruy López de Villalobos]].<ref>Sharp, Andrew. ''The discovery of the Pacific Islands''. Oxford, 1960, p. 23.</ref>

Rongelap Atoll was claimed by the [[German Empire]] along with the rest of the Marshall Islands in 1885.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Churchill |first1=William |author-link1=William Churchill (ethnologist) |date=1920 |title=Germany's Lost Pacific Empire |jstor=207706 |journal=Geographical Review |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=84–90|doi=10.2307/207706 |bibcode=1920GeoRv..10...84C }}</ref> After World War I, the island came under the [[South Seas Mandate]] of the [[Empire of Japan]]. The base became part of the vast US [[Naval Base Marshall Islands]]. Following the end of World War II, Rongelap came under the control of the United States as part of the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]].

== Nuclear testing impact ==

===The tests===

From 1946 until 1958 the [[United States]] military conducted numerous [[atmosphere|atmospheric]] [[nuclear weapons test]]s, including [[hydrogen bomb]] tests, primarily at [[Bikini Atoll]], about {{convert|120|km|sp=us}} from Rongelap Atoll. On March 1, 1954, the testing of the [[Castle Bravo]] hydrogen device produced an explosion that was 2½ times more powerful than predicted, and produced unexpected amounts of fallout<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236608|title=Radiological Assessments for Resettlement of Rongelap in the Republic of the Marshall Islands|last=United States National Research Council Committee on Radiological Safety in the Marshall Islands|chapter=Introduction |publisher=National Academies Press|year=1994|pages=Introduction}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Bikini Atoll Survey "Operation Crossroads," 1946-47|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|url=http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/expeditions/bikini.html|access-date=8 August 2013|archive-date=2 May 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130502185526/http://www.mnh.si.edu/onehundredyears/expeditions/bikini.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> that resulted in widespread [[radioactive contamination]].<ref>{{cite web | url = http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/MuhammadKaleem.shtml | title = Energy of a Nuclear Explosion | year = 2000 | last = Kaleem| first = Muhammad | work = The Physics Factbook | access-date = 2007-07-22| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070810132732/http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/MuhammadKaleem.shtml| archive-date= 10 August 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name=brit>Lorna Arnold and Mark Smith. (2006). [[Britain, Australia and the Bomb]], Palgrave Press, p. 77.</ref><ref>John Bellamy Foster (2009). ''The Ecological Revolution: Making Peace with the Planet'', Monthly Review Press, New York, p. 73.</ref> The [[mushroom cloud]] contaminated more than {{convert|7000|sqmi}} of the surrounding [[Pacific Ocean]] including some of the then inhabited surrounding islands including [[Rongerik Atoll]], Rongelap Atoll ({{convert|120|km|sp=us}} away) and [[Utirik Atoll]].<ref>{{cite book |last= Titus |first= A. Costandina |title= Bombs in the Backyard Atomic Testing and American Politics |location= Reno |publisher= University of Nevada |year= 2001 |isbn= 9780874173703 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eQfG-U5iAPYC }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[irradiation|Irradiated]] debris fell up to {{convert|2|cm|sp=us|1}} deep over the island. A United States military medical team visited the island with [[geiger counter]]s the day after the fallout, but left without telling the islanders of the danger they had been exposed to.<ref name="green"/> Virtually all the inhabitants experienced severe [[radiation sickness]], including itchiness, sore skin, vomiting, diarrhea, and fatigue. Their [[symptom]]s also included burning eyes and swelling of the neck, arms, and legs.<ref name=gid>Isobelle Gidley and Richard Shears (1986). ''The Rainbow Warrior Affair'', Unwin, p. 155.</ref> The inhabitants were forced to abandon the islands, leaving all their belongings, three days after the test. They were relocated to [[Kwajalein]] for medical treatment.<ref name=gid/><ref>Gerald H. Clarfield and William M. Wiecek (1984). ''Nuclear America: Military and Civilian Nuclear Power in the United States 1940-1980'', Harper & Row, New York, p. 207.</ref> Six days after the Castle Bravo test, the U.S government set up a secret [[Project 4.1|project]] to study the medical effects of the weapon on the residents of the [[Marshall Islands]].<ref>{{cite web | work=James Reeves to Frank D. Peel | title=Establishment of Program 4 and Project 4.1 in Castle | date=11 March 1954 | url=http://worf.eh.doe.gov/ihp/chron/F15.PDF | access-date=16 June 2020 | archive-date=27 September 2006 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927225402/http://worf.eh.doe.gov/ihp/chron/F15.PDF | url-status=dead }}</ref>

The [[United States]] was subsequently accused of having used the inhabitants in medical research (without receiving consent) to study the effects of nuclear exposure.<ref name="green"/> Until that time, the United States [[United Nations Atomic Energy Commission|Atomic Energy Commission]] had given little thought to the potential impact of widespread fallout contamination and health and ecological impacts beyond the formally designated boundary of the test site.

===Failed return to the atoll===

In 1957, three years later, the United States government declared the area 'clean and safe' and allowed the islanders to return,<ref>{{Citation|last=McCool |first=Woodford C. |publication-date=1957-02-06 |title=Return of Rongelapese to their Home Island - Note by the Secretary |publisher=United States Atomic Energy Commission |url=http://worf.eh.doe.gov/ihp/chron/A43.PDF |access-date=2007-11-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070925185914/http://worf.eh.doe.gov/ihp/chron/A43.PDF |archive-date=September 25, 2007 }}</ref> though they were told to stick to canned foods and avoid the northern islets of the atoll.<ref name="green"/> US scientists noted that "The habitation of these people on the island will afford most valuable ecological radiation data on human beings."<ref>{{Cite journal |last= Johnson |first=Giff |date= February 1979 |title= Micronesia: America's 'strategic' trust |journal= The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=15|doi=10.1080/00963402.1979.11458582 |bibcode=1979BuAtS..35b..10J }}</ref> Contrary to the US government's assurances, evidence of continued contamination mounted, as many residents developed thyroid-tumors,<ref name="green"/><ref name=gid/> and many children died of [[leukemia]].<ref name=gid/> Rates of miscarriages and stillbirths in Rongelap were twice the rate of unexposed women in the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=De Ishtar|first=Zohl|author-link=Zohl de Ishtar|date=May 2003|title=Poisoned Lives, Contaminated Lands: Marshall Islanders Are Paying a High Price for the United States Nuclear Arsenal|url=https://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1442&context=sjsj|journal=Seattle Journal for Social Justice|volume=2|issue=1|pages=291}}</ref> The magistrate of Rongelap, [[John Anjain]], whose own son died of leukemia, appealed for international help, without significant response.

=== Relocated by Greenpeace ===

In 1984, [[Marshall Islands]] senator, [[Jeton Anjain]] approached the environmental group [[Greenpeace]] to seek their help in relocating the people of Rongelap and in 1985, 'Operation Exodus' took place. In three trips, the ''[[Rainbow Warrior (1955)|Rainbow Warrior]]'' moved approximately 350 people and {{convert|100|t|sp=us}} of building material.<ref name="green"/> to the islets of [[Mejato]] and [[Ebeye]] on [[Kwajalein]] atoll, approximately {{convert|180|km|sp=us}} away. The operation took 10 days, moving everyone from 80-year-olds to newborns, as well as their homes and belongings. [[Ebeye]] is significantly smaller than the islands of Rongelap, and joblessness, suicide, and overcrowding have proven to be problems following the resettlement.{{citation needed|date=August 2013}}

=== Compensation ===
In September 1996, the [[United States Department of the Interior]] signed a $45 million resettlement agreement with the islanders, stipulating that the islanders themselves will scrape off a few inches of Rongelap's still contaminated surface. However, this is an operation deemed impossible by some critics.{{According to whom|date=March 2011}} In recent years, [[James Matayoshi]], the mayor of Rongelap, claimed that the cleanup was successful and envisioned a new promising future for the inhabitants and for tourists.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitrongelap.com/ |title=Rongelap Atoll Local Government - Marshall Islands }}</ref> Scientific measurements made in August 2014 verified a safe level of radiation on Rongelap.<ref name="20170522CC">{{cite web |last1=Lestch |first1= Corinne |title= Discovering Nuclear Studies Through the Marshall Islands |url= https://www.college.columbia.edu/about/stories/discovering-nuclear-studies-through-marshall-islands|website=Columbia College|publisher=[[Columbia University]]|access-date=18 November 2017}}</ref>

=== Aftermath ===
In 1991, the People of Rongelap and [[Jeton Anjain]] received the [[Right Livelihood Award]] "for their steadfast struggle against United States nuclear policy in support of their right to live on an unpolluted Rongelap island."

In 2012, the US government under the [[Barack Obama administration]] reasserted its position that it had satisfactorily compensated the Rongelap victims.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://geneva.usmission.gov/2012/09/18/hrc-statement-on-u-s-efforts-to-address-the-impacts-of-nuclear-testing-in-the-marshall-islands/|title=U.S. Statement on the Report of the Special Rapporteur|website=www.geneva.usmission.gov|date=18 September 2012 }}</ref>

In 2019 Chinese investor Cary Lan leased a large part of the atoll for a proposed special economic zone, in what was seen as part of ongoing efforts by China to expand its reach into the Pacific and conduct [[Foreign relations of Taiwan|chequebook diplomacy]] against [[Taiwan]].<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Financial Times|title=Pacific islands: a new arena of rivalry between China and the US|date=9 April 2019|url=https://www.ft.com/content/bdbb8ada-59dc-11e9-939a-341f5ada9d40}}</ref> After his arrest in Thailand in 2020, the project was abandoned. He was deported to the United States in 2022 for allegedly bribing elected officials in this case.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62830548 | title=Marshall Islands: Chinese pair plotted 'mini-state' in Pacific nation | work=BBC News | date=8 September 2022 }}</ref>

==Education==
[[Marshall Islands Public School System]] operates Mejatto Elementary School, which serves descendants of the community in Mejatto that resided in Rongelap Atoll.<ref>"[http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools Public Schools ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221144020/http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools |date=2018-02-21 }}." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/atolls/ronglap.html Marshall Islands site]
*{{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/marshall/rongelap.php |date=December 23, 2010 |title=Entry at Oceandots.com }}
*[http://www.visitrongelap.com/ Rongelap Atoll official site]
*[https://oliver-herbrich.wixsite.com/archiv/bikini-mon-amour Bikini - mon amour]: the film by [[Oliver Herbrich]] shows the Greenpeace evacuation and the resettlement on Mejato island 1987.
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093817/ Radio Bikini] : Oscar-nominated 1987 documentary on the 1946 atomic bomb tests on Bikini Atoll and the effects on the Bikinians as well as the US sailors who witnessed the tests.
* [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0860905/ Het Einde van de Wereld] The End of the World (1995/VPRO-TV/[[Theo Uittenbogaard]]) a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] documentary on the history of the people of the island Rongelap, who were evacuated due to fallout from the Bikini nuclear tests and their (inc. John Anjain) hearing by a Senate Committee in Washington DC

==Further reading==
* {{cite journal|publisher=Congress, U. S. At. Energy, 86th Congress, 1st session, Washington, US GPO, 1959|title=Biological and environmental effects of nuclear war. Hearings before the Special Subcomm. on Radiation, Joint Comm.|date=1959 |url=https://purl.stanford.edu/vz111cx1358}}

{{Marshall Islands}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Atolls of the Marshall Islands]]
[[Category:Ralik Chain]]
[[Category:Municipalities of the Marshall Islands]]