Runit Dome and the U.S Nuclear Legacy in the Marshall Islands

On Thursday, October 21, the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, led by Chair Katie Porter (D-Calif.), will hold an oversight hearing titled, Runit Dome and the U.S Nuclear Legacy in the Marshall Islands. In April 1947, the U.S. entered into an agreement with the United Nations Security Council to administer the Marshall Islands as a Trust Territory. Under this agreement, the U.S. retained the right to use the Marshall Islands for military tests. From 1946 to 1958, the U.S. conducted 67 nuclear weapons tests in the Marshall Islands, exposing the islands and its residents to unprecedented amounts of radiation. In 1977, nuclear waste and debris was placed in a storage facility called Runit Dome. The U.S. has never apologized to the Marshallese for the nuclear testing and continues to evade responsibility for providing monetary compensation, administering adequate health care, and conducting environmental monitoring of Runit Dome. The U.S. has a moral responsibility and a national security imperative to negotiate in good faith with the Republic of the Marshall Islands over the legacy of U.S. nuclear testing in the islands. Watch live here at 10 a.m. Eastern.