Runit Dome

The Runit Dome on Enewetak Atoll contains radioactive soil, chunks of plutonium from misfired atomic weapons and other debris from the nuclear testing that took place there between 1946 and 1958. Seawater is now infiltrating the Runit Dome, an atomic bomb waste repository on the remote Marshall Island atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, posing a potential risk of radiation exposure for the small, local population. In addition, the rising sea level caused by global climate change may end up submerging the dome entirely.

Runit Dome

Many moons ago, a letter arrived from an unknown individual who claimed to be contacting family members of people who worked in places like Kwajalein and had died of cancer. The individual was attempting to launch a class action lawsuit on behalf of any plaintiffs based on the allegation that the cancers were caused by exposure to radiation artifacts from the earlier nuclear bomb testing in the area.

Pops worked on Kwajalein for about four years circa 1954 and suffered various forms of cancer in his last years. Ultimately, he passed on in a mysterious fashion after surgery for colon cancer. The idea that he suffered because of radiation exposure was always foremost in thought. Upon reading about Runit Dome, there is no question that pops’ tenure on Kwajalein was the cause. Alas, no immediate family members were interested in the lawsuit as detailed in the “blog.”