60 years since Bikini Atoll radioactive fallout

The Japan News ^ | 03/01/2014 | Yomiuri Shimbun

[Kid Shelleen]

A memorial ceremony was held Saturday to mark the 60th anniversary since the crew of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, a tuna boat from Yaizu, Shizuoka Prefecture, and many other people were exposed to radiation from a U.S. hydrogen bomb test on Bikini Atoll near the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean.

The ceremony, held in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands, was attended by people exposed to radiation, including Matashichi Oishi, 80, one of the surviving crew of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5, and local government officials. They have reaffirmed their determination to pass on the stories of the damage caused by the radiation to later generations

[Vendome]

Sweet and, If I may, Law Approved ....

[TXnMA]

"...Matashichi Oishi, 80, one of the surviving crew of the Fukuryu Maru No. 5,..."

Radiation is invariably deadly... </SARCASM>

[Delta 21]

I would have loved to go down to the Saratoga. Never made it to Bikini.

[logi_cal869]

The 1954 test contaminated the Japanese tuna fishing boat Daigo Fukuryu Maru (Lucky Dragon V), which was near the atoll when the test occurred.

The ship's chief radioman Aikichi Kuboyama died of acute organ malfunction nearly seven months later at the age of 40, while 15 others among the boat's 23 crew members died of cancer and other causes later.

Sho 'nuff </sarc>

[vetvetdoug]

One of the last donkeys that was on a naval vessel near the detonation at Bikini died in 1983. The animals that survived the blast were taken to Oak Ridge National Laboratories to live out their lives in the hills of Tennessee. They died of old age and there was no sign of cancer.

[gbs]

The Saratoga’s wood deck was completely rotted away with all the steel fasteners still proud on the cross beams.The twin anchor chains had corroded away and fall to the bottom.
The hanger bay on the starboard side was open with a few badly decayed planes and some racks of live bombs visible. We came up through the command bridge tower with some of the personal equipment(silver bugle and some other items still where they were left, before the blast. All of Halsey's china and silverware were still aboard at position in the officers mess. There was some serious buckling in the hull which I don't think just corrosion caused. All in all I was rather amazed at how well she held up. Now to get to the Nagato, she looked liked she just rolled over and sank. All four turrets with both guns were still in place, they (Japanese ships turrets don't fall free when sunk like the US UK German and Italian battle ships did. She was laying with the starboard side down and resting on her bridge upside down. We went up into the catapult hangar bay and the back down to the aft two turrets(got a picture of me with my head in the 16” gun barrel. Then up to the stern rudder and then a bit forward along the massive keel where you could see all four 23’ props. The port forward prop area had a massive hole from an American torpedo hit taken while she was docked in I believe Yokohama Bay late in the war. All in all it was a seriously CREEPY ship. It's giving me goose bumps again as I type this. A lot of evil was done there is the only way I can describe it! Hope that gives you an idea of what I saw, the water clarity was easily 200 feet in visibility. We were circled by a 18’ foot Tiger shark during our decompression time on 50% nitrox. Fun dive!!

[gbs]

You would of enjoyed it. The big air field, runway and some of the big concrete bunkers were still in very good condition. We even found some huge bars of lead laying next to one of the bigger observation bunkers that was farther Northwest of the main Motu. It was probably a mile or so away from the 15.3 Megaton Bravo blast. If you go to Google earth and look at Bikini to the very Northwest you can see the almost round blue hole it blasted in the lagoon, it almost broke all the way through to the ocean side. We sailed over it, I wanted to dive on the crater but my wife put her foot down on that. Still wonder if it is really a glass parking lot :) LOL.

[gbs]

The Bikini government no longer has a continuous dive operation there. You can go there to dive but it’s only with Bill Gates kind of money now. Even snorkeling you could have seen some of both ships. The Saratoga’s bridge was very visible fron the surface.
The sea life was flat out spectacular, turtle, grouper, snapper with lots of Mahi and Yellowfin at the passes.It has not been fished for the past 50 years!
We were the first sanctioned sailboat(Pegasus, a Cheoy Lee OS 40) by the Bikini government since the testing to legally anchor in Bikini, within a few day’s another eleven boats sailed in and we got to do the dives with 4 Bikini divemasters two weeks before it officialy opened for the summer.

[Kickass Conservative]

Coincidentally, the new Godzilla Movie is coming out soon. Hmmmm...

[PAR35]

while 15 others among the boat's 23 crew members died of cancer and other causes later.

Well, 100% of the folks present at the Battle of Verdun have died of cancer and other causes since they fought there.

How do those numbers compare with other Japanese fishermen of their age cohort over the last 60 years?

[logi_cal869]

Give it time...you’ll get it eventually (no, not ‘cancer’)...

[rktman]

WOW! What an awesome “little” adventure. And dang it, I used to have Bill Gates type money except only in $5’s and $10’s. Now I don’t. LOL!

[trebb]

So the conclusion is that mild radiation exposure contributes to a long lifespan.

Yep - get your full-body X Rays at least twice a year..... And zero exposure results in a short lifespan - let's hope Old Sol doesn't wink out any time soon...

[skeeter]

Yamamoto received the 'Tora' message, broadcast on a 10 watt transmitter from an attacking aircraft, while on Nagato's bridge off Etajima. At the end of the war she was the only one of the 12 battleships possessed by the Japanese at the outset of the war still afloat - barely. I read somewhere that the mixed crew who sailed her down to the test site had a pretty harrowing time.

And I'm surprised they allow divers on the Saratoga with live ordinance still aboard.

A trip like that would be the high point in any divers life. Thanks for sharing.

[PapaBear3625]

WHAT? I coulda sworn I read/heard that no one could go near the Bikini’s for a quadzillion years due to the nuke tests.

Hiroshima today still glows:

[norwaypinesavage]

Beat me to it, though I didn’t have nearly as good a line nor picture as you.

[PAR35]

get your full-body X Rays at least twice a year.

More like twice a month - I fly a lot.