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Warm and fuzzy in the Marshall Islands

Ah, governments. You gotta love ’em. Always looking after their people. Peace and love, peace and love. And when the great bird of freedom flies over us, we know that we can relax, because we’re in good hands.

Here’s an interesting example, The Runit Dome. What is it? The Runit Dome is a containment structure on Runit Island, located on Enewetak Atoll. Enewetak Atoll is a former U.S. atmospheric nuclear weapons test site located in the Republic of the Marshall Islands, approximately 2,300 miles west of Hawaii in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Within it is 3000 cubic metres of radioactive debris from 68 nuclear detonations and biological warfare remains on Marshall Islands. As one writer commented, “it sweats a little.” And, it’s leaking.

Main image courtesy of Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times.

The main images you see in this post are of the crater created by the Cactus shot of Operation Hardtack I. The 18-kt detonation occurred on 5 May 1958 on Runit Island, Enewetak Atoll. The crater had a diameter of 105 meters and a maximum depth of 11 meters with a 2.5 to 4-meter lip. In 1979–1980 this crater was used as a burial pit to inter 84,000 cubic meters of radioactive soil scraped from the various contaminated Enewetak Atoll islands.  Your tax money at work. Sharing is caring.

Read the whole story here. And let us know here if you’ve been there, want to go there or if you have any other fun / frightening comments to add.

Looks inviting. Who’s up for an adventure? Don’t forget to pack your iodine. And make sure you have healthcare before you leave.

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