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The 8th atomic bomb runit island enewetak atoll
Runit Island is one of 40 islands of the Enewetak Atoll of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean.
Contents
Map of Runit, Enewetak Atoll, RMI
Runit Dome
On the shore of Runit Island, at sea level, is the Runit Dome. It contains 111,000 cubic yards of radioactive debris, remnants from nuclear tests conducted by the United States between 1946 and 1958. These debris were cleaned up and stored in the concrete dome. A report by the US Department of Energy noted that soil around the dome is already more contaminated than its contents.
An assessment of the Runit or "Cactus Dome", as it is also known, was released in 2013, detailing the weathering and minor cracking of the structure. Lagoon water surrounding the structure contains a higher inventory of radionuclides and in the event of total collapse, the lagoon would not appreciably increase in danger. Concern primarily lays in the rapid tidal response to the height of the water beneath the debris pile, with the potential for contamination of the ground-water supply.