nuclear-news

Clean up Marshall Islands radioactive mess, Pacific leaders tell USA

The communique said radioactive contaminants were still present in the Marshalls and Washington should “live up to its full obligations” to remove them and compensate affected populations.

“(There is) a special responsibility by the United States of America towards the people of the Marshall Islands, who have been and continue to be, adversely affected as a direct result of nuclear weapons tests,” it said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in the Cook Islands later on Thursday and PIF leaders will have a chance to voice their concerns to her first-hand on Friday, when she meets them in the capital Avarua….

The communique also called for action on climate change, which threatens many of the low-lying island states, and marine conservation…….

They agreed that next year’s forum will be held in the Marshall Islands, which is set to place more pressure on the United States over its nuclear legacy.

A UN fact-finding mission to the northern Pacific nation found in March that test-affected islanders “feel like nomads in their own country” and had suffered long-term health problems for the Cold War-era nuclear program. http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/breaking-news/pacific-leaders-urge-us-on-nuclear-mess/story-e6frf7k6-1226462698540

September 1, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, OCEANIA, politics international