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• The Bikini Atoll is a now uninhabited atoll within the Marshall Islands. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States military conducted more than 20 nuclear weapons tests on and around the atoll. The indigenous population was relocated to neighboring Rongerik Atoll prior to the beginning of tests. Some islanders were enrolled in a medical experiment organized by the United States to test the effects of exposure to large amounts of radiation, and many natives have died as a result of radiation related illnesses.

  The Bikini Atoll was also ship graveyard for the United States during World War II. Due to the large variety of sunken ships and an abundance of sea life that has developed since fishing in the area stopped, the atoll has become an increasingly popular destination for scuba divers. In April of 2008 a team of research divers announced that the coral reefs of the Bikini Atoll, which had been destroyed by nuclear explosions, had made a remarkable recovery. The discovery provided a significant new opinion of the resilience of coral reefs.

• Fast Facts

  1. Located in the Marshall Islands
  2. 2.3 square miles in size
  3. Population prior to relocation: About 200 people
  4. 1946 to 1958 more than 20 nuclear weapons tests took place on the atoll
  5. Indigenous population relocated prior to tests
  6. Some enrolled in a medical experiment testing the effects of radiation exposure
  7. A recovery operation scrapped 16 inches of soil from Bikini Island, creating tons of nuclear waste and no noticeable improvement on the island's radiation levels

• Castle Bravo Test

  On March 1, 1954, the United States conducted the first test of a hydrogen bomb on Bikini Atoll. The explosion was larger than scientists had predicted, and the resulting radiation decimated life on the surrounding islands.

• Related Mahalo Pages

  Nuclear Proliferation | Manhattan Project

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