24 Jun 2019

Growing concern over Marshall Islands nuclear dome

From , 6:03 am on 24 June 2019

There's growing concern over a nuclear waste-filled dome in the Marshall Islands which may be leaking. 

The 18-inch thick structure in Enewetak Atoll was used to store radioactive waste left over from atomic testing conducted from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Last week, the Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum, Dame Meg Taylor, called for an independent audit of the structure. 

It followed concerns by her UN counterpart, Antonio Guterres, who raised concerns about the dome in May during a Pacific tour. 

Mackenzie Smith spoke with the editor of the Marshall Islands Journal, Giff Johnson, and asked him whether fears the dome is leaking were grounded.

The Runit Dome was constructed on Marshall Islands Enewetak Atoll in 1979 to temporarily store radioactive waste produced from nuclear testing by the US military during the 1950s and 1960s.

The Runit Dome was constructed on Marshall Islands Enewetak Atoll in 1979 to temporarily store radioactive waste produced from nuclear testing by the US military during the 1950s and 1960s. Photo: Supplied