nuclear tests were fired at Enewetak from 1948 to 1958.

The first hydrogen bomb test, code-named Ivy Mike, occurred in late 1952 as part of Operation Ivy; it vaporized the islet of Elugelab and created two new elements: Fermium and Einsteinium. This test included B-17 Flying Fortress drones to fly through the radioactive cloud to test onboard samples. B-17 mother ships controlled the drones while flying within visual distance of them. In all, 16 to 20 B-17s took part in this operation, of which half were controlling aircraft and half were drones. To examine the explosion clouds of the nuclear bombs in 1957/58, several rockets (mostly from rockoons) were launched. One USAF airman Jimmy Robinson was lost at sea during the tests. Robinson's F-84 Thunderjet crashed and sank short of the island. Robinson's body was never recovered.

thumb|Aerial view of the [[Runit Dome. The dome is placed in the crater created by the "Cactus" nuclear weapons test in 1958.]]

Radiological cleanup

A radiological survey of Enewetak was conducted from 1972 to 1973. In 1977, the United States military began decontamination of Enewetak and other islands. During the three-year, US$100 million cleanup process, the military mixed more than of contaminated soil and debris from the islands with Portland cement and buried it in an atomic blast crater on the northern end of the atoll's Runit Island. The material was placed in the deep, wide crater created by the May 5, 1958, "Cactus" nuclear weapons test. A dome composed of 358 concrete panels, each thick, was constructed over the material. The final cost of the cleanup project was US$239 million. The military members who participated in that cleanup mission are suffering from many health issues, but the U.S. Government refused to provide health coverage until 2022 with the passage of the Honoring our PACT Act.

The 2000 environmental restoration award included funds for additional cleanup of radioactivity on Enewetak. Rather than scrape the topsoil off, replace it with clean topsoil, and create another radioactive waste repository dome at some site on the atoll (a project estimated to cost US$947 million), most areas still contaminated on Enewetak were treated with potassium. Soil that could not be effectively treated for human use was removed and used as fill for a causeway connecting the two main islands of the atoll (Enewetak and Parry). The cost of the potassium decontamination project was US$103.3 million. However, in November 2017, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that rising sea levels caused by climate change are seeping inside the dome, causing radioactive material to leak out.

U.S. relations with Marshall Islands

Section 177 of the 1983 Compact of Free Association between the governments of the United States and the Marshall Islands establishes a process for Marshallese to make a claim against the United States government as a result of damage and injury caused by nuclear testing. That same year, an agreement was signed to implement Section 177, which established a US$150 million trust fund. The fund was intended to generate US$18 million a year, which would be payable to claimants on an agreed-upon schedule. If the US$18 million a year generated by the fund was not enough to cover claims, the principal of the fund could be used. A Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal was established to adjudicate claims. In 2000, the tribunal made a compensation award to the people of Enewetak consisting of US$107.8 million for environmental restoration; US$244 million in damages to cover economic losses caused by loss of access and use of the atoll; and US$34 million for hardship and suffering.

Education

Marshall Islands Public School System operates Enewetak Elementary School. Marshall Islands High School on Majuro serves the community.

Eniwetok Airfield

Men from the 110th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on Eniwetok between 21 and 27 February 1944 and began clearing the island for construction of a bomber airfield. A by runway with taxiways and supporting facilities was built. The first plane landed on 11 March. By 5 April the first operational bombing mission was conducted. The base was later named for Lieutenant John H. Stickell.

In mid-September 1944 operations at Wrigley Airfield on Engebi Island were transferred to Eniwetok.

US Navy and Marine units based at Eniwetok included:

  • VB-102 operating PB4Y-1s from 12–27 August 1944
  • VB-108 operating PB4Y-1s from 11 April-10 July 1944
  • VB-109 operating PB4Y-1s from 5 April-14 August 1944
  • VB-116 operating PB4Y-1s from 7 July-27 August 1944
  • VPB-121 operating PB4Y-1s from 1 March-3 July 1945
  • VPB-144 operating PV-2s from 27 June 1945 until September 1946

The airstrip is now abandoned and its surface partially covered by sand.

Parry Island seaplane base

The Imperial Japanese Navy had developed a seaplane base on Parry Island. Following its capture on 22 February, Seabee's from the 110th Naval Construction Battalion expanded the base, building a coral-surfaced parking area and shops for minor aircraft and engine overhaul. A marine ways was installed on a Japanese pier and boat-repair shops were also erected.

US Navy and Marine units based at Parry Island included:

  • VP-13 operating PB2Y-3s from 26 February-22 June 1944
  • VP-16 operating PBM-3Ds from 7 June-1 August 1944
  • VP-21 operating PBM-3Ds from 19 August-17 October 1944 and from 15 July-11 September 1945
  • VP-23 operating PBY-5As from 20 August 1944 – 9 April 1945
  • VP-MS-6 operating PBM-5Es from 1 February 1948 in support of Operation Sandstone
  • VP-102 operating PB2Y-3s from 3 February-30 August 1944
  • VP-202 operating PBM-3Ds from 24 February-1 March 1944
  • VPB-19 operating PBM-3Ds from 2 November 1944 – 12 February 1945 and 6 March 1945-January 1946
  • VPB-22 operating PBM-3Ds from 10 October-30 November 1944 and from 25 June-7 August 1945

List of nuclear weapons tests at Eniwetok

Summary

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ Nuclear Tests on and around Enewetak Atoll

|-

! Series

! Start date

! End date

! Count

! Yield Range

! Total Yield

|-

! Sandstone

|

|

| 3

| 18 - 49 kilotons

| 104 kilotons

|-

! Greenhouse

|

|

| 4

| 45.5-225 kilotons

| 396.5 kilotons

|-

! Ivy

|

|

| 2

| 500 kilotons - 10.4 megatons

| 10.9 megatons

|-

! Castle

|

|

| 1

| 110 kilotons - 15 megatons

| 48 megatons

|-

! Redwing

|

|

| 11

| 190 tons - 1.9 megatons

| ~2.61 megatons

|-

! Hardtack I

|

|

| 22

| Zero - 8.9 megatons

| 16.1 megatons

|-

! Total (on Enewetak)

|  

|  

| 43||1.7 kt

|-

|Cactus||18:15 5 May 1958 (GMT)||Runit Islet||18 kt

|-

|Butternut||18:15 11 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||81 kt

|-

|Koa||18:30 12 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||1370 kt

|-

|Wahoo||01:30 16 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||9 kt

|-

|Holly||18:30 20 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||5.9 kt

|-

|Yellowwood||2:00 26 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Lagoon||330 kt

|-

|Magnolia||18:00 26 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||57 kt

|-

|Tobacco||02:50 30 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||11.6 kt

|-

|Rose||18:45 2 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||15 kt

|-

|Umbrella||23:15 8 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Lagoon||8 kt

|-

|Walnut||18:30 14 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||1.45 kt

|-

|Linden||03:00 18 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||11 kt

|-

|Elder||18:30 27 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||880 kt

|-

|Oak||19:30 28 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Lagoon||8.9 Mt

|-

|Sequoia||18:30 1 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||5.2 kt

|-

|Dogwood||18:30 5 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||397 kt

|-

|Scaevola||04:00 14 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||0 kt

|-

|Pisonia||23:00 17 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||255 kt

|-

|Olive||18:15 22 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||202 kt

|-

|Pine||20:30 26 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||2000 kt

|-

|Quince||02:15 6 August 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||0 kt

|-

|Fig||04:00 18 August 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||0.02 kt

|}

<gallery>

File:Boeing B-17 drone at Eniwetok 1948.jpg|USAF Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress drone aircraft at Eniwetok Airfield in 1948 for Operation Sandstone nuclear test

File:AbombOperationSandstoneApril1948.png|Operation Sandstone nuclear test

File:Ivy Mike (Eniwetok-Atoll - 31. Oktober 1952).jpg|Ivy Mike thermonuclear test, 31 October, 1952

File:Atombombentest Greenhouse-George.jpg|Operation Greenhouse nuclear test

File:Ivy King - mushroom cloud.jpg|Ivy King largest pure fission nuclear test, conducted by the US in November 1952

File:Atombombentest Redwing-Seminole 01.jpg|Test shot Seminole of Operation Redwing, conducted on the coast of the island of Bogon

File:Atombombentest Redwing-Seminole 02.jpg|Red-wing Seminole nuclear test

File:Hardtack Umbrella nuke.jpg|Hardtack Umbrella nuclear test

File:Enewetak atomic detonations.ogg|Video clips of three test nuclear explosions in Eniwetok, Marshall Islands

File:Operation Castle - Nectar - Detonation.ogv| Test shot Nectar of Operation Castle produced a yield of 1.69 megatons and was detonated just north east of Ivy Mike's Elugelab crater. The Island of Bogon is the spearhead shaped object at the bottom right of the screen, as it was before the Redwing Seminole test was conducted on that island.

</gallery>

Missile Impact Location System

From 1958 through 1960 the United States installed the Missile Impact Location System (MILS) in the Navy managed Pacific Missile Range, later the Air Force managed Western Range, to localize the splash downs of test missile nose cones. MILS was developed and installed by the same entities that had completed the first phase of the Atlantic and U.S. West Coast SOSUS systems. A MILS installation, consisting of both a target array for precision location and a broad ocean area system for good positions outside the target area, was installed at Eniwetok as part of the system supporting Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) tests. Other Pacific MILS shore terminals were at the Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay supporting Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) tests with impact areas northeast of Hawaii and the other ICBM test support systems at Midway Island and Wake Island.

  • The short story "The Terminal Beach" by J. G. Ballard is set on an island of Eniwetok in the aftermath of the nuclear tests.

Notes

References

Bibliography

; Attribution

  • Marshall Islands site
  • Annotated bibliography for Eniwetok Atoll from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues
  • Information on legal judgements to the people of Enewetak
  • Nursing a nuclear test hangover (www.watoday.com.au report on Runit Dome, August 18, 2008)
  • Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission Survivors