Climate change deepening Marshall Islands’ nuclear contamination fears
Rising sea levels are amplifying long-standing concerns about nuclear contamination in the Marshall Islands, prompting renewed appeals from local leaders for major emitting nations to do their part to address climate change.
The small independent Pacific state is among the most vulnerable countries in the world to rising seas.
Scientists predict that by 2100, sea levels could rise by about 2 meters, bringing longer periods of flooding and accelerating the erosion already reshaping the coastline.
The archipelago was the site of extensive Cold War nuclear testing carried out by the United States, leaving a legacy of nuclear contamination and questions over measures taken to safely dispose of and seal radioactive materials.
Those questions are now becoming concerns as sea levels are expected to soon engulf a concrete dome designed to contain the radioactive leftovers.
Years of erosion have stripped away beaches that once served as natural buffers, leaving the roots of large trees exposed and destabilizing shoreline homes.
“We’re a country (that produces) less carbon emissions, but bigger countries are contributing a lot,” said landowner John Zedkaia. “I think they really (need) to step up, because pretty soon we’re going to be one of the first countries (to go) underwater.”
Exacerbating the climate threat, the Marshall Islands continue to grapple with the legacy of the US nuclear weapon testing. From 1946 to 1958, the United States conducted 67 atomic bomb tests in the islands, leaving widespread contamination.
Enewetak Atoll
In the late 1970s and early 1980s, cleanup crews gathered roughly 100,000 cubic yards (cu yd) of contaminated soil and about 6,000 cu yd of radioactive debris from former nuclear test sites on Enewetak Atoll and placed them into an unlined crater on Runit Island.
The site was then sealed with a concrete dome made of 357 panels, creating what is now known as the Runit Dome.
A 2024 US Department of Energy report concluded that even with climate change, including a hypothetical collapse of the dome in 2090, radiation exposure would remain low and would not affect public health.
The dome has long worried residents. Rising seas, which are steadily encroaching on the structure, have intensified those fears.
Enewetak Sen. Jack Ading was skeptical of the US government’s assurances, saying that since the dome was built without a lining underneath, it could have been leaking radiation and contaminating the surrounding marine ecosystem since its installation.
