Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll ( BIK-in-ee or bih-KEE-nee; Marshallese: Pikinni [pʲiɡinnʲi], lit. 'Coconut place'), known as Eschscholtz Atoll between the 19th century and 1946, is a coral reef in the Marshall Islands consisting of 23 islands surrounding a 229.4-square-mile (594.1 km2) central lagoon. The atoll is at the northern end of the Ralik Chain, approximately 530 miles (850 km) northwest of the capital Majuro. After the Second World War, the atoll was chosen by the United States as a nuclear weapon testing site. The 167 people who lived on Bikini were forcefully relocated by the U.S. military in preparation for testing. In 1946, the Bikini population moved to Rongerik, a small island east of Bikini Atoll, but it did not have adequate resources to support them. The islanders began experiencing starvation by early 1948, and were moved to Kwajalein Atoll. The U.S. used Bikini Atoll for the fourth detonation of a nuclear bomb, and carried out 22–23 additional nuclear tests there until 1958, when it was discovered that the fallout from testing was much more dangerous than previously thought. To this day, the Bikini islanders are prohibited from returning to Bikini Atoll due to nuclear contamination. However, there are some signs of recovery as the amount of radiation slowly decreases. In 1972, about 100 residents were voluntarily returned to their home island. Scientists later found dangerously high levels of strontium-90 in well water in May 1978, and the residents' bodies were carrying abnormally high concentrations of caesium-137. They were evacuated again in September 1978. The atoll is occasionally visited today by divers and a few scientists, and it is occupied by a handful of caretakers. The people of the atoll, which now number in the thousands, have spread out to other Marshallese islands and the United States. A multi-million dollar trust fund, which had been supporting services for many Bikini inhabitants since the 1980s, was drained in the late 2010s. In the 21st century, the atoll is a World Heritage Site, remembered for its role in the Cold War and the post-nuclear age. It is noted as an enclave of nature, and the radiation has decreased enough that tourism is possible. However, the lingering radioactive contamination makes it unfit to return to from what was expected to be short-term evacuation, especially as it is not recommended to eat plants or wildlife.

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