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Article: Islanders Left Unaware of A-Test Hazards; Marshalls Residents Allege U.S. Cover-Up to Protect Weapons Program, Avoid Costly Claims
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- May 31, 1988
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The Department of Energy had evidence that Marshall Islands
residents may have suffered from radiation exposure for years after a
1954 U.S. nuclear test in their area, but it let them live on a
contaminated atoll without explaining the medical findings to them.
Although DOE contract scientists found depressed white blood-cell
counts and high levels of plutonium in the urine of residents of
Rongelap Atoll, they dismissed the findings as anomalous.
Rongelapese officials, backed by western lawyers and consultants
who recently obtained this medical data, said DOE should have
investigated quickly what were obvious signs of radiation disease and
kept islanders fully informed. Instead, they ...