Cracks in Marshall Islands nuclear dome inspected
Cracks in a concrete dome covering radioactive waste in the Marshall Islands has residents worried but a recent expedition shows surface leaks are not the main risk.
Transcript
Cracks in a concrete dome covering radioactive waste in the Marshall Islands has residents worried but a recent expedition shows surface leaks are not the main risk.
The Runit Dome was constructed on Enewetak Atoll in 1979 to temporarily store radioactive waste produced from nuclear testing by the United States military during the 1950s and 1960s.
The Marshallese community raised concerns over damage after Typhoon Nangka hit in July causing significant damage to homes and infrastructure on the atoll.
Our correspondent Giff Johnson told Daniela Maoate-Cox, that the biggest risk is radioactive waste leaking out the bottom of the dome into the lagoon.
GIFF JOHNSON: There was a visit to Enewetak a few days ago organised by the department of energy to check the dome in the wake of what I guess was a tropical storm as it went through the Marshall's turned into a typhoon as it left. And this visit to Enewetak is part of a new ongoing monitoring which has been underway now for about two years to monitor the dome and the basic facts that came out from the visit as I understand it is that one just basic, just surface geiger counter type checks of radiation showed nothing above background on the surface of the dome and that there actually was not any damage to the dome which is a huge concrete encasing over this former, what was a crater from a nuclear bomb. That there were no actual damage there are cracks in it but the cracks have been developing over time the way concrete cracks but there actually wasn't any damage seen from the storm that hit in July.
DANIELA MAOATE-COX: So people who are concerned can rest easy?
GJ: I think the key point is that what the department of energy is doing is that they are engaged in a longer term monitoring program for working out what is really happening with the dome. And I would say there probably should be less concern about what you are getting when you are standing ontop of it because because it is encased with concrete. And the concern probably is probably more about what is leaching out underneath because there was no seal put into the bomb crater. All the radioactive debris was just dumped into this crater and then it was capped with this seal of cement. So in the porous nature of an Atoll means that every high tide and low tide waters up and down. So presumably there is leaching and the issue then is well what about the sediments what about the surrounding area.
DMC: So the issues here have been existing for quite a while was any damage caused by the Typhoon did the recent expedition discover anything that had been cause there?
GJ: Well this expedition wasn't looking at what happened on the residential islands where the Enewetak people where living but there was an earlier visit by the governments disaster team which went out and documented damage and yes there was quite a lot of damage to houses a lot of roofs blew off, buildings blew down this sort of thing. So yes there was quite a bit of damage high winds and rain that came in from the storm Nangka.
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