Runit Dome Cracks: Nuclear Waste's Ticking Time Bomb

0:00Here's more Sydney news from March 14th. In the Marshall Islands, the Runet Dome sits on a small Pacific A-Tall, holding over 120,000 tons of radioactive waste from United States nuclear tests. Built in the late 1970s, it covers a crater from a 1958 blast and was meant to seal contaminated soil and debris forever. But now, 50 years later, cracks are spreading across its concrete cap. Back in the 1940s through 50s, the U.S. ran 67 nuclear tests across Endowattok and Bikini A-Talls, displacing over 300. Marshallese people. Two decades after the last explosion, about 4,000 American troops cleaned up the mess, trucking waste to that crater on Runet Island without. Full knowledge of the dangers. Troops like former Army Driver Robert Celestial, waited in radioactive water during the six-month job, later battling boils, brittle bones, arthritis, and organ problems that forced

1:00his early retirement. Many of those veterans die from cancer, and only recently, in 2023, did the U.S. government recognize them as atomic veterans eligible for benefits. Experts now warn that rising sea levels in stronger storms threaten the dome's stability, with groundwater already carrying contaminants into the lagoon. These show elevated radiation nearby, and scientists question if hazardous materials like plutonium chunks lurk inside. The U.S. Department of Energy calls the crack's normal, aging, and says lagoon radiation dwarfs any leaks, but Marshallese leaders say they lack the resources to fix it under their independence agreement. Concerns grow as climate change collides with this nuclear legacy. Thanks to our sponsor for supporting today's coverage, headphones in a pillow, simple idea, surprisingly addictive, S-O-L-I-SoliPillow.com