An American hydrogen bomb test in 1954 threw up an estimated “two hundred billion pounds of coral reef and the sea floor,” after the weapons yield turned out to be nearly three times what U.S. scientists had expected.The test, called ‘Castle Bravo,’ took place on the Bikini Atoll, a coral reef that forms part of the Marshall Islands, on March 1, 1954.Following the explosion radiation spread across 15 separate islands and atolls, causing many to be evacuated, with locals later suffering from cancerous tumors and birth defects.By 1995 the U.S. Government had paid out $43.2 million in compensation to 1,196 claimants, according to the National Claims Tribunal.
The detonation of the atomic bomb nicknamed “Smokey,” as part of Operation PLUMBBOB in the Nevada desert, 1957. Several Pacific islands had to be evacuated after the test of another nuclear bomb in 1954, which turned out to be more…
How a U.S. Hydrogen Bomb Accidentally Turned a Pacific Island into Jello
