View source for Enewetak Atoll

{{Short description|Coral atoll in the Marshall Islands; site of U.S. nuclear testing during the Cold War}}
{{Infobox islands
| name             = Enewetak
| image_name       = Enewetak Atoll - 2014-02-10 - Landsat 8 - 15m.png
| image_caption    = [[Landsat 8]] [[satellite]] image of Enewetak Atoll. The [[Explosion crater|crater]] formed by the [[Ivy Mike]] [[nuclear test]] can be seen near the north cape of the atoll, with the smaller [[Operation Castle|Castle Nectar]] crater adjoining it.
| image_size       = 250px
| map = Marshall Islands
| map_caption =Map of the [[Marshall Islands]] highlighting the Enewetak Atoll in red 
| location         = North Pacific
| coordinates      = {{coord|11|30|N|162|20|E|type:isle_region:MH|display=title,inline}}
| coastline_mi     = 
| archipelago      = [[Ralik Chain|Ralik]]
| total_islands    = 40
| area_km2         = 5.85
| area_footnotes   = <ref name=population>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/marshall/ |title=Marshall Islands |last=Brinkhoff |first=Thomas |date=2022-06-11 |website=City Population |access-date=2023-01-19}}</ref>
| elevation_m      = 5
| population       = 296
| population_as_of = 2021
| population_footnotes = <ref name=population />
| country          = [[Marshall Islands]]
| ethnic_groups    = [[Marshallese people|Marshallese]]
|image_map=Enewetak Atoll in Marshall Islands.svg}}
[[File:Enewetak map.png|thumb|Map of Enewetak Atoll]]
[[File:Enewetak or Eniwetok atoll.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Enewetak and Parry]]

'''Enewetak Atoll''' ({{IPAc-en|ɛ|ˈ|n|iː|w|ə|ˌ|t|ɔː|k|,_|ˌ|ɛ|n|ɪ|ˈ|w|iː|t|ɔː|k}};<ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Eniwetok |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200322182539/https://www.lexico.com/definition/eniwetok |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 22, 2020 |title=Eniwetok |dictionary=[[Lexico]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref> also spelled '''Eniwetok Atoll''' or sometimes '''Eniewetok'''; {{langx|mh|Ānewetak}}, {{IPAc-mh|yan&yweytak}}, or {{lang|mh|Āne-wātak}}, {{IPAc-mh|yan&y-waytak}};<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.trussel2.com/MOD/LocA.htm#%C4%80newetak|title=Marshallese-English Dictionary - Place Name Index|website=www.trussel2.com}}</ref> known to the Japanese as '''Brown Atoll''' or '''Brown Island'''; {{langx|ja|ブラウン環礁}}) is a large [[coral atoll]] of 40 islands in the [[Pacific Ocean]] and with its 296 people (as of 2021)<ref name=population /> forms a legislative district of the [[Ralik|Ralik Chain]] of the [[Marshall Islands]]. With a [[land area]] total less than {{convert|5.85|km2|sqmi|sp=us}},<ref name=population /> it is no higher than {{convert|5|m|ft|sp=us|1}} and surrounds a deep central [[lagoon]], {{convert|80|km|mi|sp=us}} in [[circumference]]. It is the second-westernmost atoll of the Ralik Chain and is {{convert|305|km|mi|sp=us}} west from [[Bikini Atoll]].

It was held by the Japanese from 1914 until its [[Battle of Eniwetok|capture]] by the [[United States]] in February 1944 during [[World War II]], then became [[Naval Base Eniwetok]]. [[Nuclear weapons testing|Nuclear testing]] by the US, totaling the equivalent of over 30 megatons of [[TNT]], took place during the [[Cold War]]; in 1977–1980, a concrete dome (the Runit Dome) was built on [[Runit Island]] to deposit [[radioactive]] soil and debris.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.utaot.com/2013/01/25/the-nuclear-trash-can-of-the-pacific-on-enewetak-atoll|title=Enewetak Atoll – nuclear trash can of the pacific – UTAOT|website=www.utaot.com|access-date=2013-04-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524160257/http://www.utaot.com/2013/01/25/the-nuclear-trash-can-of-the-pacific-on-enewetak-atoll/|archive-date=2013-05-24|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Runit Dome is deteriorating and could be breached by a typhoon, though the sediments in the lagoon are even more radioactive than those which are contained.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/04/opinion/a-pacific-isle-radioactive-and-forgotten.html A Pacific isle radioactive and forgotten], ''[[The New York Times]]'', Michael B. Gerrard, December 3, 2014. Retrieved 19 September 2016.</ref>

== Etymology ==
The [[U.S. government]] referred to the atoll as "Eniwetok" until 1974, when it changed its official spelling to "Enewetak" (along with many other Marshall Islands [[place name]]s, to more properly reflect their [[pronunciation]] by the [[Micronesians#Marshallese people|Marshall Islanders]]<ref>{{cite book |first=Barton C. |last=Hacker |title=Elements of controversy : the Atomic Energy Commission and radiation safety in nuclear weapons testing, 1947–1974 |location=Berkeley, CA |publisher=University of California Press |year=1994 |page=14 |isbn=0520083237 }}</ref>).

==Geography==
Enewetak Atoll formed atop a [[seamount]]. The seamount was formed in the late [[Cretaceous]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clouard |first1=Valerie |last2=Bonneville |first2=Alain |chapter=Ages of Seamounts, Islands and Plateaus on the Pacific Plate |title=Plates, Plumes, and Paradigms |editor1-first=Gillian R. |editor1-last=Foulger |editor2-first=James H. |editor2-last=Natland |editor3-first=Dean C. |editor3-last=Presnall |editor4-first=Don L. |display-editors = 3 |editor4-last=Anderson |location=Boulder, Colo. |publisher=Geological Society of America |year=2005 |pages=71–90 [p. 80] |isbn=0813723884 }}</ref> This seamount is now about {{convert|1400|m|ft|sp=us}} below sea level<!--ow=enethanstilanisland??-->.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ludwig |first1=K. R. |last2=Halley |first2=R. B. |last3=Simmons |first3=K. R. |last4=Peterman |first4=Z. E. |title=Strontium-Isotope Stratigraphy of Enewetak Atoll |journal=[[Geology (journal)|Geology]] |volume=16 |issue=2 |year=1988 |pages=173–177 [p. 173–174] |doi=10.1130/0091-7613(1988)016<0173:SISOEA>2.3.CO;2 |bibcode=1988Geo....16..173L }}</ref> It is made of [[basalt]], and its depth is due to a general [[subsidence]] of the entire region and not because of [[erosion]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schlanger |first1=S. O. |last2=Campbell |first2=J. F. |last3=Jackson |first3=M. W. |chapter=Post-Eocene subsidence of the Marshall Islands Recorded By Drowned Atolls on Harrie and Sylvania Guyots |title=Seamounts, Islands, and Atolls |series=Geophysical Monograph Series |volume=43 |editor-first=B. H. |editor1-last=Keating |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=American Geophysical Union |year=1987 |pages=165–174 [p. 173] |isbn=0875900682 |display-editors=etal}}</ref>

Enewetak has a [[mean]] [[elevation]] above sea level of {{convert|3|m|ft|sp=us}}.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Munk |first1=Walter |last2=Day |first2=Deborah |title=Ivy-Mike |journal=Oceanography |volume=17 |issue=2 |year=2004 |pages=97–105 [p. 98] |doi=10.5670/oceanog.2004.53 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

==History==
Humans have inhabited the atoll since about 1,000 B.C.{{sfn|Hezel|1994|p=3}}

The islands were first settled by Austronesian islanders.

The first European colonizers to Enewetak, Spanish explorer [[Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón]], arrived on 10 October 1529.{{sfn|Hezel|1994|p=16-17}}<ref>Brand, Donald D. ''The Pacific Basin: A History of its Geographical Explorations'' The American Geographical Society, New York, 1967, p.122</ref> He called the island "''Los Jardines''" (The Gardens). In 1794, sailors aboard the British merchant [[sloop]] ''Walpole'' called the islands "Brown's Range" (thus, the Japanese name "Brown Atoll"). It was visited by about a dozen ships before the establishment of the German colony of the [[Marshall Islands]] in 1885.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Churchill |first1=William |author-link1=William Churchill (ethnologist) |date=1920 |title=Germany's Lost Pacific Empire |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_geographical-review_1920-08_10_2/page/84 |jstor=207706 |journal=Geographical Review |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=84–90|doi=10.2307/207706 |bibcode=1920GeoRv..10...84C }}</ref>

=== The World Wars ===
With the rest of the Marshalls, Enewetak was captured by the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] in 1914, during World War I and mandated to the [[Empire of Japan]] by the [[League of Nations]] in 1920. The Japanese administered the island under the [[South Seas Mandate]], but mostly left affairs in hands of traditional local leaders until the start of World War II. The atoll, together with other parts of Marshall Islands located to the west of 164°E, was placed under the governance of [[Pohnpei district]] during the Japanese administration period, separately from the rest of the Marshall Islands.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://teikoku-denmo.jp/history/honbun/dainanyou.html|title=昔はサイパンもパラオも「日本」だった ── 日本の南洋群島統治|website=teikoku-denmo.jp}}</ref>
[[File:Eroberung von Eniwetok.jpg|thumb|left|Fighting on Enewetak Atoll during the Battle of Eniwetok in World War II]]
In November 1942, the Japanese built an airfield on Engebi Island. As they used it only for refueling planes between [[Chuuk Lagoon|Truk]] and islands to the east, no aviation personnel were stationed there, and the island had only token defenses. When the [[Gilberts]] fell to the United States, the [[Imperial Japanese Army]] assigned defense of the atoll to the [[1st Amphibious Brigade]], formed from the 3rd Independent Garrison, which had previously been stationed in [[Manchukuo]]. The 1st Amphibious Brigade arrived on January 4, 1944. Some 2,586 of its 3,940 men were left to defend Eniwetok Atoll, supplemented by aviation personnel, civilian employees, and laborers. However, they were unable to finish the fortifications before the American attack came in February. During the ensuing [[Battle of Eniwetok]], the Americans captured Enewetak in a five-day amphibious operation. Fighting mainly took place on Engebi Islet, site of the most important Japanese installation, although some combat occurred on the main islet of Enewetak itself and on Parry Island, where there was a Japanese seaplane base.

Following its capture, the anchorage at Enewetok became a major [[US Naval Advance Base]] with [[USS Cascade (AD-16)#Service Squadron 4 and Service Squadron 10|Service Squadron 4 and Service Squadron 10]] stationed in the lagoon. The daily average of ships present during the first half of July 1944 was 488; during the second half of July, the daily average number of ships at Enewetak was 283.<ref>Carter, Worrall Reed. [https://www.history.navy.mil/research/library/online-reading-room/title-list-alphabetically/b/beans-bullets-black-oil.html ''Beans, Bullets, and Black Oil: The Story of Fleet Logistics Afloat in the Pacific During World War II.''] Washington, D.C.: Department of the Navy, 1953, p. 163.</ref> Naval Base Eniwetok was part of the vast [[Naval Base Marshall Islands]]. US Navy [[Seabees]] of the 110th Naval Construction Battalion arrived on February 21 and 27 to begin construction of Stickell Field.<ref name= "Enewetok"/>  It had two taxiways and a {{convert|6,800|by|400|ft|m|adj=on|sp=us}} runway.<ref name="Enewetok">Chapter XXVII
Bases in the Central Pacific, Building the Navy's Bases in World War II, History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940-1946, Volume II, UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, 1947, p.325 [https://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/Building_Bases/bases-27.html]</ref>  In June 1945, the 67th CB arrived to build a 35,000 man recreation center to be turned over to CBMU 608.<ref name= "Enewetok"/>

In 1950, [[John C. Woods]], who [[Nuremberg executions|executed]] the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] [[War crime|war criminal]]s convicted at the [[Nuremberg trials]], died by accidental electrocution while stationed on Enewetak Atoll.

=== Nuclear weapons testing ===
After the end of World War II, Enewetak came under the control of the United States as part of the [[Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]], until the independence of the Marshall Islands in 1986. During its tenure, the United States evacuated the local residents many times, often involuntarily.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} The atoll was used for [[Nuclear weapons testing|nuclear testing]], as part of the [[Pacific Proving Grounds]]. Before testing commenced, the U.S. exhumed the bodies of United States servicemen killed in the Battle of Enewetak and returned them to the United States to be re-buried by their families. 43{{efn-la|There is a discrepancy related to the total number of tests conducted: 42 or 43. The total number is 43, but two tests (HARDTACK I SCAEVOLA and HARDTACK I QUINCE) were with zero yield: one was a safety test and the other was a failure.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dtra.mil/Portals/125/Documents/NTPR/newDocs/15-HARDTACK%20I%20%20-%202021.pdf |title=Operation HARDTACK I |author=<!--Not stated--> |date=September 2021 |pages=2–3 |publisher=Defense Threat Reduction Agency |access-date=2024-07-29}}</ref> And sometimes one of them doesn't count. Another source of this discrepancy is the widely cited article by Simon and Robison, the summary of which lists the total number of tests conducted at Enewetak Atoll as 42 (including two tests with zero yield), although the attached table lists data for all 43 tests.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Simon |first1=S.L. |last2=Robison |first2=W.L. |date=July 1997 |title=A Compilation of Nuclear Weapons Test Detonation Data for U.S Pacific Ocean Tests |url=https://journals.lww.com/health-physics/abstract/1997/07000/a_compilation_of_nuclear_weapons_test_detonation.22.aspx |journal=Health Physics |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=258–64 |doi=10.1097/00004032-199707000-00022 |pmid=9199235 |bibcode=1997HeaPh..73..258S |access-date=2024-07-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041110005808/http://www.eh.doe.gov/health/marshall/marsh/journal/14828.pdf |archive-date=November 10, 2004|url-access=subscription }}</ref>}} nuclear tests were fired at Enewetak from 1948 to 1958.<ref>Diehl, Sarah and Moltz, James Clay. ''Nuclear Weapons and Nonproliferation: A Reference Book.'' Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2002, p. 208.</ref>

The first [[hydrogen bomb]] test, code-named [[Ivy Mike]], occurred in late 1952 as part of [[Operation Ivy]]; it vaporized the islet of [[Elugelab]] and created two new elements: [[Fermium]] and [[Einsteinium]]. This test included [[B-17 Flying Fortress]] drones to fly through the [[radioactive fallout|radioactive cloud]] to test onboard samples. B-17 mother ships controlled the drones while flying within visual distance of them. In all, 16 to 20 B-17s took part in this operation, of which half were controlling aircraft and half were drones. To examine the explosion clouds of the nuclear bombs in 1957/58, several rockets (mostly from [[rockoon]]s) were launched. One USAF airman Jimmy Robinson was lost at sea during the tests. Robinson's [[F-84 Thunderjet]] crashed and sank {{convert|3.5|mi|km|sp=us}} short of the island. Robinson's body was never recovered.<ref name="Distillations">{{cite web |first1= Kit |last1=Chapman |title= Element Hunting in a Nuclear Storm |date= January 14, 2020 |url=https://www.sciencehistory.org/distillations/element-hunting-in-a-nuclear-storm |website=Distillations |publisher= [[Science History Institute]] |access-date=January 14, 2020}}</ref><ref name="F-84G-5-RE">{{cite web |title=F-84G-5-RE Thunderjet Serial Number 51-1040 |url=https://www.pacificwrecks.com/aircraft/f-84/51-1040.html |website=Pacific Wrecks |access-date=9 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="Wolverton">{{cite journal |last1=Wolverton |first1=Mark |title=Into the Mushroom Cloud: Most pilots would head away from a thermonuclear explosion |journal=Air & Space Magazine|publisher=Smithsonian |date=2009 |issue=August |url=https://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/into-the-mushroom-cloud-35152524/ |access-date=9 January 2020}}</ref>

[[File:Runit Dome 001.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the [[Runit Dome]]. The dome is placed in the crater created by the "Cactus" nuclear weapons test in 1958.]]

=== Radiological cleanup ===
A radiological survey of Enewetak was conducted from 1972 to 1973.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Giff |date=1980 |title=Paradise lost |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00963402.1980.11458792 |journal=Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists |language=en |volume=36 |issue=10 |pages=24–29 |doi=10.1080/00963402.1980.11458792 |bibcode=1980BuAtS..36j..24J |issn=0096-3402|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In 1977, the United States military began [[decontamination]] of Enewetak and other islands. During the three-year, US$100 million cleanup process, the military mixed more than {{convert|80000|m3|cuyd|sp=us}} of contaminated soil and debris<ref name="Schwartz">{{Cite book |last=Schwartz |first=Stephen I. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=safduT80AHMC |title=Atomic Audit: The Costs and Consequences of U.S. Nuclear Weapons Since 1940 |date=2011-12-01 |publisher=Brookings Institution Press |isbn=978-0-8157-2294-6 |language=en}}</ref> from the islands with [[Portland cement]] and buried it in an atomic blast crater on the northern end of the atoll's [[Runit Island]].<ref>Johnson, ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'', p. 24.</ref>{{efn-la|A 15 kiloton nuclear weapon exploded but did not undergo nuclear fission on Runit, scattering plutonium over the island. Runit Island is not habitable for the next 24,000 years, which is why it was chosen for the nuclear waste repository. See: Wargo, John. ''Green Intelligence: Creating Environments That Protect Human Health.'' New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2009, p. 15.}} The material was placed in the {{convert|9.1|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} deep, {{convert|110|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} wide crater created by the May 5, 1958, "[[Operation Hardtack I|Cactus]]" nuclear weapons test. A dome composed of 358 concrete panels, each {{convert|46|cm|in|sp=us}} thick, was constructed over the material. The final cost of the cleanup project was US$239 million.<ref name="Schwartz" /> The United States government declared the southern and western islands in the atoll safe for habitation in 1980,{{efn-la|The government said that the northern islands would not be safe for inhabitation until 2010. See: Johnson, ''Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'', p. 25.}} and residents of Enewetak returned that same year.<ref>Linsley, Gordon. "Site Restoration and Cleanup of Contaminated Areas." In ''Current Trends in Radiation Protection: On the Occasion of the 11th International Congress of the International Radiation Protection Association, 23–28 May 2004, Madrid, Spain.'' Henri Métivier, Leopoldo Arranz, Eduardo Gallego, and Annie Sugier, eds. Les Ulis: EDP Sciences, 2004, p. 142.</ref> The military members who participated in that cleanup mission are suffering from many health issues, but the U.S. Government refused to provide health coverage<ref>{{cite news |first=Dave |last=Philipps |title=Troops Who Cleaned Up Radioactive Islands Can't Get Medical Care |work=The New York Times|date=Jan 28, 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/28/us/troops-radioactive-islands-medical-care.html}}</ref> until 2022 with the passage of the [[Honoring our PACT Act of 2022|Honoring our PACT Act]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Mohamed |first=Carlotta |date=August 12, 2022 |title=President Biden signs Queens lawmaker's bill into law to provide health care benefits for veterans exposed to radiation |url=https://qns.com/2022/08/biden-signs-quees-bill-to-provide-vet-healthcare/ |url-status=live |work=QNS |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220813071309/https://qns.com/2022/08/biden-signs-quees-bill-to-provide-vet-healthcare/ |archive-date=2022-08-13}}</ref>

The 2000 environmental restoration award included funds for additional cleanup of radioactivity on Enewetak. Rather than scrape the topsoil off, replace it with clean topsoil, and create another radioactive waste repository dome at some site on the atoll (a project estimated to cost US$947 million), most areas still contaminated on Enewetak were treated with [[potassium]].{{efn-la|[[Cesium]], which is highly radioactive, is chemically similar to potassium. Since the atoll is deficient in potassium, plants absorb cesium from the ground instead. This makes the plants inedible. Cesium also is deposited in the muscles of the human body, just as potassium is. See: {{cite book |last=Firth |first=Stewart |url=https://archive.org/details/nuclearplaygroun00stew/page/36 |title=Nuclear Playground |publisher=University of Hawaii Press |year=1987 |isbn=0824811445 |location=Honolulu |page=[https://archive.org/details/nuclearplaygroun00stew/page/36 36] |url-access=registration}}}} Soil that could not be effectively treated for human use was removed and used as fill for a [[causeway]] connecting the two main islands of the atoll (Enewetak and Parry). The cost of the potassium decontamination project was US$103.3 million.<ref name="Graham" />

A report by the US [[Congressional Research Service]] projects that the majority of the atoll will be fit for human habitation by 2026–2027, after nuclear decay, de-contamination and [[environmental remediation]] efforts create sufficient dose reductions.<ref name="wlstorage.net">{{cite web |title=Loss-of-Damages From U.S. Nuclear Testing in the Marshall Islands: Technical Analysis of the Nuclear Claims Tribunal Methodology and Alternative Estimate |url=http://wlstorage.net/file/crs/RL33029.pdf |access-date=2014-01-21 |archive-date=2014-08-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140806014236/http://wlstorage.net/file/crs/RL33029.pdf |url-status=usurped }}</ref> However, in November 2017, the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]] reported that rising sea levels caused by climate change are seeping inside the dome, causing radioactive material to leak out.<ref>{{cite news |last=Willacy |first=Mark |date=November 27, 2017 |title=A poison in tour island |work=ABC |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-11-27/the-dome-runit-island-nuclear-test-leaking-due-to-climate-change/9161442 |access-date=November 27, 2017}}</ref>

=== U.S. relations with Marshall Islands ===
Section 177 of the 1983 [[Compact of Free Association]] between the governments of the United States and the Marshall Islands<ref>The Compact was ratified by both nations in 1986.</ref> establishes a process for Marshallese to make a claim against the United States government as a result of damage and injury caused by nuclear testing. That same year, an agreement was signed to implement Section 177, which established a US$150 million trust fund. The fund was intended to generate US$18 million a year, which would be payable to claimants on an agreed-upon schedule. If the US$18 million a year generated by the fund was not enough to cover claims, the [[principal (finance)|principal]] of the fund could be used.<ref>Louka, Elli. ''Nuclear Weapons, Justice and the Law.'' Northampton, Mass.: Edward Elgar, 2011, p. 161-162.</ref><ref name="Graham">[http://www.yokwe.net/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=2591 Graham, Bill. "Written Testimony of Bill Graham, Public Advocate (retired), Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal." Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and the Global Environment. Committee on Foreign Affairs. United States House of Representatives. May 20, 2010.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025195455/http://www.yokwe.net/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=2591 |date=October 25, 2012 }} Accessed 2012-11-01.</ref> A [[Marshall Islands]] [[Nuclear Claims Tribunal]] was established to adjudicate claims. In 2000, the tribunal made a compensation award to the people of Enewetak consisting of US$107.8 million for environmental restoration; US$244 million in damages to cover economic losses caused by loss of access and use of the atoll; and US$34 million for hardship and suffering.<ref name="Graham" /> In addition, as of the end of 2008, another US$96.658 million in individual damage awards were made. Only US$73.526 million of the individual claims award has been paid, however, and no new awards were made between the end of 2008 and May 2010.<ref name="Graham" /> Due to stock market losses, payments rates that have outstripped fund income, and other issues, the fund was nearly exhausted, as of May 2010, and unable to make any additional awards or payments.<ref name="Graham" /> A lawsuit by Marshallese arguing that "changed circumstances" made Nuclear Claims Tribunal unable to make just compensation was dismissed by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] in April 2010.<ref>{{cite news |last=Richey |first=Warren |title=Supreme Court: No Review of Award for US Nuclear Weapons Tests |newspaper=Christian Science Monitor |date=April 5, 2010 |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2010/0405/Supreme-Court-No-review-of-award-for-US-nuclear-weapons-tests}}</ref>

==Education==
[[Marshall Islands Public School System]] operates Enewetak Elementary School.<ref>"[http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools Public Schools ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221144020/http://pss.edu.mh/en/public-schools |date=2018-02-21 }}." Marshall Islands Public School System. Retrieved on February 21, 2018.</ref> [[Marshall Islands High School]] on [[Majuro]] serves the community.<ref>"[http://www.pss.edu.mh/files/PSSDocuments/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%20MOE%202011-2012.pdf Annual Report 2011-2012] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180222090338/http://www.pss.edu.mh/files/PSSDocuments/Annual%20Reports/Annual%20Report%20MOE%202011-2012.pdf |date=2018-02-22 }}." [[Ministry of Education (Marshall Islands)]]. Retrieved on February 22, 2018. p. 54 (PDF p. 55/118). "Marshall Islands High Schools{{sic}} takes students from Ratak Rak zone including schools in Majuro, Arno, Mili, and Enewetak/Mejatto."</ref>

==Eniwetok Airfield==
{{Main|Enewetak Auxiliary Airfield}}
Men from the [[Seebee|110th Naval Construction Battalion]] arrived on Eniwetok between 21 and 27 February 1944 and began clearing the island for construction of a bomber airfield. A {{convert|2100|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} by {{convert|120|m|ft|adj=on|sp=us}} runway with taxiways and supporting facilities was built. The first plane landed on 11 March. By 5 April the first operational bombing mission was conducted.{{sfn|Bureau of Yards and Docks|1947|p=325}} The base was later named for Lieutenant [[John H. Stickell]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Carey|first=Alan|title=The Reluctant Raiders: The Story of United States Navy Bombing Squadron VB/VPB-109 During World War II |publisher=Schiffer Publishing|year=1999|isbn=9780764307577|page=64}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Morison |first=Samuel|title=History of United States Naval Operations in World War II. Volume VI: Aleutians, Gilberts and Marshalls, June 1942-April 1944|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|year=1975|page=306}}</ref>

In mid-September 1944 operations at [[Wrigley Airfield]] on Engebi Island were transferred to Eniwetok.{{sfn|Bureau of Yards and Docks|1947|p=326}}

US Navy and Marine units based at Eniwetok included:

*[[VP-22|VB-102]] operating [[B-24 Liberator#RAF.2FRCAF.2FUS Navy maritime patrol service|PB4Y-1s]] from 12–27 August 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=135}}
*[[VP-28|VB-108]] operating PB4Y-1s from 11 April-10 July 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=186}}
*[[VPB-109|VB-109]] operating PB4Y-1s from 5 April-14 August 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=522-3}}
*[[VP-HL-1|VB-116]] operating PB4Y-1s from 7 July-27 August 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=623}}
*[[VPB-121]] operating PB4Y-1s from 1 March-3 July 1945{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=544}}
*VPB-144 operating [[Lockheed Ventura#PV-2 Harpoon|PV-2s]] from 27 June 1945 until September 1946{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=35}}

The airstrip is now abandoned and its surface partially covered by sand.

==Parry Island seaplane base==
The [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] had developed a seaplane base on Parry Island. Following its capture on 22 February, Seabee's from the 110th Naval Construction Battalion expanded the base, building a coral-surfaced parking area and shops for minor aircraft and engine overhaul. A marine ways was installed on a Japanese pier and boat-repair shops were also erected.{{sfn|Bureau of Yards and Docks|1947|p=325}}

US Navy and Marine units based at Parry Island included:

*[[VPB-13|VP-13]] operating [[Consolidated PB2Y Coronado|PB2Y-3s]] from 26 February-22 June 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=410}}
*[[VP-16]] operating [[Martin PBM Mariner|PBM-3Ds]] from 7 June-1 August 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=410}}
*[[VP-21]] operating PBM-3Ds from 19 August-17 October 1944 and from 15 July-11 September 1945{{sfn|Roberts|2000|pp=233-4}}
*[[VP-23]] operating [[Consolidated PBY Catalina|PBY-5As]] from 20 August 1944 – 9 April 1945{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=431}}
*[[VP-46|VP-MS-6]] operating PBM-5Es from 1 February 1948 in support of Operation Sandstone{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=267}}
*[[VPB-4|VP-102]] operating PB2Y-3s from 3 February-30 August 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=392}}
*[[VPB-202|VP-202]] operating PBM-3Ds from 24 February-1 March 1944{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=591}}
*[[VPB-19]] operating PBM-3Ds from 2 November 1944 – 12 February 1945 and 6 March 1945-January 1946{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=295}}
*[[VPB-22]] operating PBM-3Ds from 10 October-30 November 1944 and from 25 June-7 August 1945{{sfn|Roberts|2000|p=236}}

==List of nuclear weapons tests at Eniwetok==

===Summary===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Nuclear Tests on and around Enewetak Atoll
|-
! Series
! Start Date
! End Date
! Count
! Yield Range
! Total Yield
|-
! ''[[Operation Sandstone|Sandstone]]''
| {{dts|14 April 1948}}
| {{dts|14 May 1948}}
| 3
| 18 - 49 [[TNT equivalent|kilotons]]
| 104 kilotons
|-
! ''[[Operation Greenhouse|Greenhouse]]''
| {{dts|7 April 1951}}
| {{dts|4 May 1951}}
| 4
| 45.5-225 kilotons
| 396.5 kilotons
|-
! ''[[Operation Ivy|Ivy]]''
| {{dts|31 October 1952}}
| {{dts|15 November 1952}}
| 2
| 500 kilotons - 10.4 megatons
| 10.9 megatons
|-
! ''[[Operation Castle|Castle]]''
| {{dts| 13 May 1954}}
| {{dts| 13 May 1954}}
| 1
| 110 kilotons - 15 megatons
| 48 megatons
|-
! ''[[Operation Redwing|Redwing]]''
| {{dts|4 May 1956}}
| {{dts|21 July 1956}}
| 11
| 190 tons - 1.9 megatons
| ~2.61 megatons
|-
! ''[[Operation Hardtack I|Hardtack I]]''
| {{dts|5 April 1958}}
| {{dts|18 August 1958}}
| 22
| Zero - 8.9 megatons
| 16.1 megatons
|-
! Total (on Enewetak)
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| 43<ref name="wlstorage.net"/>
| &nbsp;
| Approx 31.8 megatons (almost 6% of total test yield worldwide)
|}

===[[Operation Sandstone]]===

{| class="wikitable"

! Test shot !! Date !! Location !! Yield
|-
|-
|-

| X-Ray|| 18:17 14 April 1948 ([[Greenwich Mean Time|GMT]])|| Enjebi Islet|| 37&nbsp;kt
|-

| Yoke || 18:09 30 April 1948 (GMT)|| Aomon Islet|| 49&nbsp;kt
|-

| Zebra|| 18:04 14 May 1948 (GMT) || Runit Islet || 18&nbsp;kt
|}

===[[Operation Greenhouse]]===

{| class="wikitable"

! Test shot !! Date !! Location !! Yield
|-

| Dog || 18:34 7 April 1951 (GMT) || Runit Islet|| 81&nbsp;kt
|-

| Easy || 18:26 20 April 1951 (GMT)|| Enjebi Islet|| 47&nbsp;kt
|-

| George || 21:30 8 May 1951 (GMT) || Eberiru Islet|| 225&nbsp;kt
|-

| Item || 18:17 24 May 1951 (GMT) || Enjebi Islet||45.5&nbsp;kt

|}

===[[Operation Ivy]]===

{| class="wikitable"
|-

! Test shot !! Date !! Location !! Yield
|-

|[[Ivy Mike|Mike]]|||19:14:59.4 31 October 1952 (GMT)||Elugelab Islet||10.4&nbsp;Mt
|-

|[[Ivy King|King]]||23:30 15 November 1952 (GMT)||Runit Islet||500&nbsp;kt

|}

===[[Operation Castle]]===
{| class="wikitable"
|-

! Test shot !! Date !! Location !! Yield
|-
|Nectar|||18:00 13 May 1954 UTC||Off Bogon Islet near Ivy Mike crater||1.69&nbsp;Mt
|-
|}

===[[Operation Redwing]]===

{| class="wikitable"
|-

! Test shot !! Date !! Location !! Yield
|-

|Lacrosse|||18:25 4 May 1956 (GMT)||Runit Islet||40&nbsp;kt
|-

|Yuma||19:56 27 May 1956 (GMT)||Aomon Islet||0.19&nbsp;kt
|-

|Erie||18:15 30 May 1956 (GMT)||Runit Islet||14.9&nbsp;kt
|-

|Seminole||00:55 6 June 1956 (GMT)||Bogon Islet||13.7&nbsp;kt
|-

|Blackfoot||18:26 11 June 1956 (GMT)||Runit Islet||8&nbsp;kt
|-

|Kickapoo||23:26 13 June 1956 (GMT)||Aomon Islet||1.49&nbsp;kt
|-

|Osage||01:14 16 June 1956 (GMT)||Runit Islet||1.7&nbsp;kt
|-

|Inca||21:26 21 June 1956 (GMT)||Rujoru Islet||15.2&nbsp;kt
|-

|Mohawk||18:06 2 July 1956 (GMT)||Eberiru Islet||360&nbsp;kt
|-

|Apache||18:06 8 July 1956 (GMT)||near [[Ivy Mike]] crater||1.9&nbsp;Mt
|-

|Huron||18:12 21 July 1956 (GMT)||Off Flora Islet|||250&nbsp;kt

|}

===[[Operation Hardtack I]]===

{| class="wikitable"
|-

! Test shot !! Date !! Location !! Yield
|- style="background-color:LightYellow;"

|Yucca||18:15 28 April 1958 (GMT)||157&nbsp;km N of Eniwetok Atoll{{efn-la|name=fn1|The Hardtack I Yucca test was conducted using a stratospheric balloon. The ship with this balloon departed from Bikini Atoll. The launch of this balloon was made between Enewetak and Bikini Atolls, slightly closer to Bikini. The surface zero was closer to Enewetak Atoll. Therefore this test can only be conditionally classified as a test performed at Enewetak Atoll.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stratocat.com.ar/fichas-e/1958/BXR-19580428.htm |title=YUCCA NUCLEAR TEST |author=<!--Not stated--> |date= |website=StratoCat |publisher= |access-date=2024-07-29}}</ref>}}||1.7&nbsp;kt
|-

|Cactus||18:15 5 May 1958 (GMT)||Runit Islet||18&nbsp;kt
|-

|Butternut||18:15 11 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||81&nbsp;kt
|-

|Koa||18:30 12 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||1370&nbsp;kt
|-

|Wahoo||01:30 16 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||9&nbsp;kt
|-

|Holly||18:30 20 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||5.9&nbsp;kt
|-

|Yellowwood||2:00 26 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Lagoon||330&nbsp;kt
|-

|Magnolia||18:00 26 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||57&nbsp;kt
|-

|Tobacco||02:50 30 May 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||11.6&nbsp;kt
|-

|Rose||18:45 2 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||15&nbsp;kt
|-

|Umbrella||23:15 8 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Lagoon||8&nbsp;kt
|-

|Walnut||18:30 14 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||1.45&nbsp;kt
|-

|Linden||03:00 18 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||11&nbsp;kt
|-

|Elder||18:30 27 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||880&nbsp;kt
|-

|Oak||19:30 28 June 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Lagoon||8.9&nbsp;Mt
|-

|Sequoia||18:30 1 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||5.2&nbsp;kt
|-

|Dogwood||18:30 5 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||397&nbsp;kt
|-

|Scaevola||04:00 14 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||0&nbsp;kt
|-

|Pisonia||23:00 17 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||255&nbsp;kt
|-

|Olive||18:15 22 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||202&nbsp;kt
|-

|Pine||20:30 26 July 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||2000&nbsp;kt
|-

|Quince||02:15 6 August 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||0&nbsp;kt
|-

|Fig||04:00 18 August 1958 (GMT)||Eniwetok Atoll||0.02&nbsp;kt

|}

===Gallery===
<gallery>
File:Boeing B-17 drone at Eniwetok 1948.jpg|[[USAF]] [[Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress]] drone aircraft at Eniwetok Airfield in 1948 for [[Operation Sandstone]] nuclear test
File:AbombOperationSandstoneApril1948.png|[[Operation Sandstone]] nuclear test
File:Ivy Mike (Eniwetok-Atoll - 31. Oktober 1952).jpg|[[Ivy Mike]] thermonuclear test, 31 October, 1952
File:Atombombentest Greenhouse-George.jpg|[[Operation Greenhouse]] nuclear test
File:Ivy King - mushroom cloud.jpg|[[Ivy King]] largest pure fission nuclear test, conducted by the US in November 1952
File:Atombombentest Redwing-Seminole 01.jpg|Test shot Seminole of [[Operation Redwing]], conducted on the coast of the island of [[Elugelab|Bogon]]
File:Atombombentest Redwing-Seminole 02.jpg|Red-wing Seminole nuclear test
File:Hardtack Umbrella nuke.jpg|Hardtack Umbrella nuclear test
File:Enewetak atomic detonations.ogg|Video clips of three test nuclear explosions in Eniwetok, Marshall Islands
File:Operation Castle - Nectar - Detonation.ogv| Test shot ''Nectar'' of [[Operation Castle]] produced a yield of 1.69 [[TNT equivalent|megaton]]s and was detonated just north east of Ivy Mike's [[Elugelab]] crater. The Island of [[Elugelab|Bogon]] is the [[Projectile point|spearhead]] shaped object at the bottom right of the screen, as it was before the Redwing Seminole test was conducted on that island.
</gallery>

==Missile Impact Location System==
From 1958 through 1960 the United States installed the [[Missile Impact Location System]] (MILS) in the Navy managed Pacific Missile Range, later the Air Force managed [[Western Range (USSF)|Western Range]], to localize the splash downs of test missile nose cones. MILS was developed and installed by the same entities that had completed the first phase of the Atlantic and U.S. West Coast [[SOSUS]] systems. A MILS installation, consisting of both a target array for precision location and a broad ocean area system for good positions outside the target area, was installed at Eniwetok as part of the system supporting [[Intercontinental Ballistic Missile]] (ICBM) tests. Other Pacific MILS shore terminals were at the [[Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay]] supporting [[Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile]] (IRBM) tests with impact areas northeast of Hawaii and the other ICBM test support systems at [[Midway Island]] and [[Wake Island]].<ref name=ICAA>{{cite web |title=Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) History 1950 - 2010 |publisher=IUSS/CAESAR Alumni Association |url=http://www.iusscaa.org/history.htm |access-date=11 February 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Subcommittee on Military Construction (March–April)|date=April 29, 1959 |title=Military Construction Appropriations for 1960: Hearings |pages=169–170 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e-JLAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA169 |access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Subcommittee on Military Construction (May)|date=May 20, 1959 |title=Military Construction Appropriations for 1960: Hearings |pages=818, 824 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HBVEAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA818 |access-date=16 September 2020}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

*The short story "[[The Terminal Beach]]" by [[J. G. Ballard]] is set on an island of Eniwetok in the aftermath of the nuclear tests.{{sfn|Ballard|1964|p=136}}

==Notes==
{{Notelist-la}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Bibliography ==
* {{cite book | last1 = Roberts | first1 = Michael D. | title = Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume 2: The History of VP, VPB, VP(H) and VP(AM) Squadrons | publisher = Naval Historical Center, Department of the Navy | year = 2000 | location = Washington, D.C. | url = https://www.history.navy.mil/research/histories/naval-aviation-history/dictionary-of-american-naval-aviation-squadrons-volume-2.html |access-date = 2015-01-22}}
* {{cite book|title=Building the Navy's Bases in World War II: History of the Bureau of Yards and Docks and the Civil Engineer Corps, 1940-1946|author= Bureau of Yards and Docks|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=N8AgAAAAMAAJ}}|year=1947|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office}}
* {{cite book|first=Francis X. |last=Hezel|title=The First Taint of Civilization: A History of the Caroline and Marshall Islands in Pre-colonial Days, 1521-1885|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=EtNsSHPJES8C}}|year=1994|orig-year=1983|publisher=University of Hawaii Press|isbn=978-0-8248-1643-8 }}
* {{cite book|first=J. G. |last=Ballard|title=The Terminal Beach|year=1964|url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=dMqOGwAACAAJ}}|publisher=Carroll and Graf|isbn=0-88184-370-9 }}

==External links==
{{Air Force Historical Research Agency}}
{{Commons category|position=right|Enewetak}}
* [http://marshall.csu.edu.au/Marshalls/html/atolls/enewetak.html Marshall Islands site]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/marshall/enewetak.php  |date=December 23, 2010 |title=Entry at Oceandots.com }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060721231654/http://alsos.wlu.edu/qsearch.aspx?browse=places%2FEniwetok+Atoll Annotated bibliography for Eniwetok Atoll from the Alsos Digital Library for Nuclear Issues]
* [http://www.nuclearclaimstribunal.com Information on legal judgements to the people of Enewetak]
* [http://www.watoday.com.au/world/nursing-a-nuclear-test-hangover-20080818-3x86.html Nursing a nuclear test hangover] (www.watoday.com.au report on Runit Dome, August 18, 2008)
* [http://www.atomiccleanupvets.com Enewetak Atoll Atomic Debris Cleanup Mission Survivors]
* {{youTube|autMHvj3exA|ABC News documentary, 41min}}
{{Marshall Islands}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Enewetak Atoll| ]]
[[Category:Atolls of the Marshall Islands]]
[[Category:Ralik Chain]]
[[Category:Enewetak Atoll nuclear explosive tests| ]]
[[Category:American nuclear test sites]]
[[Category:Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]