Since 1945, the testing of nuclear weapons has gone on unabated in all environments: underwater, underground, and in the atmosphere as well. Additionally, more tests have taken place on top of towers, onboard barges, on the Earth’s surface, and suspended balloons. The National Resources Defense Council estimates the overall yield of nuclear tests at 510 megatons (MT), with atmospheric tests along accounting for more than 400 MT. Such tests have resulted in immense amounts of radioactivity, with surface explosions generating colossal radioactive particulate matters and dust than other burst locations.
The most disturbing of all tests were those done in the Marshall Islands from 1946 when the US Navy arrived at one of their atolls. Citing their need to conduct tests for the atomic bomb, it was the beginning of untold woes for the Islanders. While detonation entailed 67 devices, the nuclear extent was exceedingly devastating to not only the environment but also to individuals and the community as well. The environment suffered and continues to suffer untold hazards. The first drawback remained the presence of radioactive isotopes within the atmosphere, which later translated to the pollution of the land as well as water. As time went by, ionized particles seeped into the vegetation, making food unpalatably dangerous and, resulting in deformities among individuals.
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Fundamentally, the people suffered all kinds of cancers from the radiation fallout that permeated for decades. Within bones, radionuclides concentrated causing genetic alterations seen to this day. Nonetheless, the biggest and most disturbing effect was inherently communal: an upheaval caused by people displacement from one atoll to another. This dislocation messed with the community’s social fabric, tearing people from communal lands tying them to their traditional culture. Therefore, it remains the mandate of a community health educator to explain to the community the hazards of radiation.
