nuclear-news

Marshall islanders affected by radiation, and now, climate change

Marshallese president: Climate change real threat
Taiwan News B y JON GAMBRELL Associated Press2009-09-29  The president of the Marshall Islands said Monday that his nation is one of the “forefront victims” of climate change and called on the world to address a growing environmental disaster that is forcing his citizens to higher ground.

President Litokwa Tomeing ……. said that if not addressed, climate change could force even more citizens to move to other countries as rising ocean waters claims more of his country’s atolls and small islands between Australia and Hawaii………………….State health authorities also worry about the Marshallese not being covered by U.S. government medical programs and developing disease. In Hawaii, the state government tried to stop paying for chemotherapy and dialysis for some Marshallese residents, but later extended that benefit.

The Marshallese government says some of those cancer cases are a direct result of nuclear bomb testing that by the U.S. in the island chain. The U.S. military detonated 67 nuclear weapons there from 1946 to 1958, allowing radioactive fallout to cloud the islands. Experts say that led to high rates of leukemia and thyroid, lung, stomach, skin and brain cancers.

Marshallese president: Climate change real threat – Taiwan News Online

September 29, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 1, climate change, OCEANIA | climate change, nuclear, radiation, radioactive