×

News

Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb provides health consultations for victims of U.S. hydrogen bomb test on Marshall Islands

by Jumpei Fujimura, Staff Writer

Majuro, Marshall Islands – On March 2, members of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, visiting the Marshall Islands to lend support to the victims of a U.S. hydrogen bomb test that took place 60 years ago at Bikini Atoll, located in the Pacific Ocean, completed a round of medical consultations in Majuro, the capital. For three days, members of the organization met with 30 people, which included former residents of Rongelap Atoll and their descendants. Rongelap Atoll was contaminated by radioactive fallout from the nuclear test. The members of the organization listened to the health concerns of these people, among other concerns.

The 30 examinees, both men and women, range in age from their 20s to their 70s. Seven have had their thyroid gland removed previously, and three have been diagnosed as suffering from a failure of thyroid function. Another three have undergone surgery for stomach cancer or other diseases. At the health consultations, a doctor conducted physical exams and the residents’ urine and blood pressure was checked. Only two had no health problems, while most showed symptoms of high blood pressure or diabetes.

Bolkain Anjain, 60, was just six months old when radioactive fallout hit his island. At regular health checkups designed for victims of the hydrogen bomb test, which were organized by the U.S. Department of Energy, he was told that no abnormalities were detected. But he complained that his stomach felt bloated. Mr. Anjain expressed his displeasure, saying that he could not trust examinations given by the United States.

Dr. Hiroya Takeuchi, 51, a member of the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs and a resident of Yokohama, took part in the consultations and stressed, “High blood pressure and diabetes are, in part, secondary consequences of the hydrogen bomb test because the people have been relying on canned foods, among other foodstuffs, due to the fact that they’re unable to cook traditional foods with the use of ingredients found on the island.”

Dr. Takeuchi, after prefacing his remarks by saying that the whole picture of the damage could not be grasped because of a lack of continuous data from examinations of the victims of the nuclear test, pointed out that the victims would be in much better health had they not been exposed to the radioactive fallout.

(Originally published on March 3, 2014)

Archives