Survivor Rongelap: Health issues and use of traditional medicine among the women of Rongelap atoll Jodi Stevens Releford and Will C. McClatchey Research Abstract The people of Rongelap atoll have always been survivors. For the atolls that now make up the Marshall Islands (Fig- For centuries they survived in one of the most extreme ure 1) to be habitable, the earliest Pacific explorers would environments in the world by making the most of the re- have had to introduce useful plant species to the natural sources available to them. Life was further complicated vegetation, which is sparse and simple (Figure 2). Atoll when they were exposed to fallout from nuclear testing by life for these early Marshall Islanders could not have been the U.S. Consequently they have suffered horrible medi- easy; and the fact that humans not only survived, but also cal ailments and exile from their island home. With plans flourished is a testament to their tenacity and resourceful- now in the works for repatriation to Rongelap atoll, safety ness. Unfortunately, in the modern era the lives of some is the first concern. We believe that the risk of consum- Marshall Islanders, such as those from Rongelap atoll ing traditional plant-based remedies on Rongelap has have been further complicated by numerous health prob- been underestimated. Women and infants are particularly lems as a result of radiation exposure. The United States at risk because they utilize far more traditional remedies began testing nuclear weapons in the northern atolls of the Marshall Islands following the end of World War II. than the rest of the community. Some returning Rongelap The residents of Rongelap atoll (Figure 3) were tempo- Islanders may be consuming more than 60 times the num- rarily relocated in 1946 during Operation CROSSROADS, ber of remedies than was previously thought. We make the first round of tests, after which they were returned to some suggestions of ways to make the consumption of their atoll (Simon 1997). traditional remedies safe while still maintaining important cultural traditions. A few years later in 1954, BRAVO, the first test of Op- eration CASTLE, was detonated on neighboring Bikini Introduction atoll. The BRAVO test resulted in an explosive yield “three times the most probable predicted value and twice the The recent history of the indigenous people of Rongelap Atoll of the Marshall Islands is one of deception, illness, and a love of their island home. Most recently it has be- come a quest for sustainability in the face of a nuclear Correspondence holocaust. In the effort to return to their atoll home they Jodi Stevens Releford, Department of Botany, University of are seeking to recreate an environment in which they can Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i, U.S.A. [email protected] utilize natural resources conservatively and at the same time maintain traditional cultural practices. Issues of glob- Will C. McClatchey, Botanical Research Institute of Texas, al sustainability encompass more than just conserving Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A.; Department of Botany, University of physical resources but also conserving traditional knowl- Hawai`i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai`i, U.S.A.; Texas Christian edge and way of life for indigenous peoples. Rongelap University, Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.A. Islanders have been subjected to numerous physical and [email protected] cultural challenges as a result of radiation exposure dur- Ethnobotany Research & Applications 9:287-305 (2011) ing the last generation. Published: July 31, 2011 www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol9/i1547-3465-09-287.pdf 288 Ethnobotany Research & Applications Enewetak Bikini Rongelap 0 11 N Ailinginae Kwajalein N miles Majuro 0 75 150 50N 1620E 1720E Figure 1. Republic of the Marshall Islands in the North Pacific Ocean with pertinent atolls labeled. Boxed area includes atolls traditionally managed by people of Rongelap atoll. Figure 2. The northeast end of Rongelap atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands. www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol9/i1547-3465-09-287.pdf Stevens Releford & McClatchey - Survivor Rongelap: Health issues and use 289 of traditional medicine among the women of Rongelap atoll predicted upper lim- it” (Defense Nuclear Agency 1954). The bomb was 400-500 times larger than those dropped on Hi- roshima and Naga- saki (Weisgall 1994). In fact, the resulting Rongelap Atoll explosion was equal to 15 million tons of TNT (Yamazaki 1995) and released N one hundred and fif- ty-seven times the Eneaetok amount of radioac- tive iodine into the atmosphere than the Looj Enealo Chernobyl accident (Plasman 2005). Tufa Eonbeje Likoman Lukotoke The BRAVO bomb Bokanrokut was detonated near Bokjelto the ground “so that Islet Arbar Rongelap large quantities of Reef earth, sand, and wa- ter were admixed and fused with the radioactive fission Figure 3. Rongelap atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands with surveyed islets labeled. products. The in- Ground Zero Bikar Atoll Rongelap Atoll Utrik Atoll Bikini Atoll Rongerik Atoll Ailinginae Atoll Taka Atoll accumulated rad 3,000 100 miles 1,000 300 100 Figure 4. Wind distributed nuclear fallout pattern from the BRAVO detonation at Bikini Atoll in 1954 including Rongelap and Ailinginae where Rongelap Islanders were living at the time. After Robison et al. 1997. www.ethnobotanyjournal.org/vol9/i1547-3465-09-287.pdf 290 Ethnobotany Research & Applications tense heat lofted this cloud of lethal materials high above Abon, a BRAVO survivor, remembers, “We thought if we the surface, forming a cloud more than 120 miles long and moved from our land the US would finally consider our 30 miles wide. As the cloud cooled, much of the radioac- plight. It was a gamble with our lives. But we knew we tive content returned to the earth as a powdery shroud. were contaminated. Our main concern was the safety of The fallout particles clung to the skin of people exposed our children and grandchildren. So many people were get- to the powdery ‘rain.’ The fallout was inhaled as people ting sick. All we wanted was for the US to clean our island” breathed and it was ingested when they ate contaminat- (Murphy 2005). ed food. Particles in the environment and on the skin of the people emitted gamma rays, which penetrated their Without scientific evidence that the atoll was contaminat- bodies, and beta rays, which burned their skin” (Yamazaki ed, they were unable to convince U.S. or Marshall Islands 1995). Winds blowing northeast at high elevation trans- National government leaders to help them financially and ported heavy radioactive fallout to several nearby atolls logistically in the evacuation. Without governmental assis- (Figure 4) including Ailinginae, Rongelap, Rongerik, and tance, the people of Rongelap turned to Greenpeace to Utrik (Defense Nuclear Agency 1979, Whitcomb 2000). help them. So it was that in 1985, three hundred Rongelap Islanders were once again evacuated from Rongelap (Fig- Jon Anjain, the Magistrate of Rongelap at that time, later ures 5, 6) to Majetto (an islet in Kwajalein atoll) and Ma- described the events of the day, “we saw a flash of light- juro, where most of them remain to this day (Greenpeace ning in the west like a second sun rising. We heard a loud 2005). Consequently, Rongelap Islanders have a complex explosion and within minutes the ground began to shake. evacuation history and are still living with the effects of ar- A few hours later the radioactive fallout began to drop on tificial environmental radiation exposure. the people, into the drinking water, and on the food. The children played in the colorful ash-like powder. They did The immediate medical effects of exposure included burns not know what it was and many [sores] erupted on their to the skin, hair loss, festering sores (Simon 1997), and arms and faces”. More than two days passed before the eventually stillbirths and congenital abnormalities (Pollock people of Rongelap were removed. In that time, “our peo- 2004). The women of Rongelap in particular, suffered from ple began to be very sick, they vomited, burns showed the effects of exposure. Lijon Eknilang, a BRAVO survivor, on their skin, and people’s hair began to fall out,” remem- explains, “I cannot have children. I have had miscarriages bered Anjain (Wasserman et al. 1982). on seven occasions. On one of those occasions, I miscar- ried after four months. The child I miscarried was severely The United States military eventually evacuated the 82 deformed; it had only one eye. I have also had thyroid residents of Rongelap to Kwajalein atoll for medical treat- surgery to remove nodules. I am taking thyroid medication ment, and then in June of 1954, to Ejit on Majuro atoll which I need every day for the rest of my life. Doctors re- (United States Atomic Energy Commission 1957). When cently found more nodules in my thyroid, which have to be the U.S. came to evacuate the community, they were told removed in the near future. I have lumps in my breasts, as not to bring any of their belongings; no personal papers, well as kidney and stomach problems, for which I am re- no family heirlooms etc. and most of their belongings ceiving treatment. My eyesight is blurred, and everything were subsequently destroyed during their exile (Johnston looks foggy to me” (The Hague 1995). & Baker 2008). The Rongelap islanders were permitted to return to their atoll in 1957, despite their concerns of Almira Matayoshi lost both of her parents to cancer, and safety. These concerns later proved valid as the women has had five post BRAVO pregnancies that resulted in of Rongelap experienced a stillbirth and miscarriage rate stillbirths. She was pregnant and living on Rongelap at twice that of other Marshallese women not exposed to the the time of the blast, and gave birth to what is called a radioactive fallout (Wasserman et al.