Between 1946 and 1958, the United States carried out 67 atmospheric nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands, most of them at Bikini and Enewetak atolls. The largest was the Castle Bravo test of March 1, 1954, a 15-megaton detonation that spread fallout over inhabited atolls.
The people of Rongelap and Utrik were among the most heavily exposed. Islanders were displaced, and the health and environmental effects are still studied today. The National Cancer Institute has published radiation dose estimates and cancer risk projections based on the testing.
Students approaching this topic should rely on primary research rather than summaries. The NCI’s Marshall Islands work and the published dose studies are the right starting points, along with the accounts of Marshallese communities themselves.
Related reading on the Pacific region: Pacific island leadership in Micronesia, marine protected areas in Palau, and tropical biodiversity in Papua New Guinea.

