In particular, de-classified reports confirm that aerial explosions carried out between 1966 and 1974 irradiated the inhabitants of the Society Islands and probably French Polynesia in general. In particular, the explosion in July 1974 of the bomb Centauron was carried out "incorrectly" or despite the inappropriate meteorological conditions, which caused fallout to be blown in the "wrong direction", the fallout produced levels of radioactive Plutonium in the air 500 times greater than admissible levels, as well as generating radioactive rainwater, that was probably stored and drunk by a large part of the population. This is just one of 181 tests that continued until 1996. Some of these bombs were many times larger than the bomb that fell on Hiroshima. The later tests were carried out underground or underwater, to limit fallout, but we hear stories of cracks in the atoll walls that have been leaking radioactive contamination, who knows where, for who knows how long. Over the three decades the explosions had a combined force of 13 Megatons of TNT, and the currently de-classified documents identify 350 different incidents of contamination. We don't know exactly the impacts on the populations' health and the environment, but it's sobering reading. What I find the hardest to understand is that the military and government were aware of this, but chose not to inform the inhabitants or the servicemen who were impacted, it seems too little too late to do so 40 years later. Hollande has promised us further financial assistance for the victims, and more financial aid for the country (part of Chirac's promised "nuclear debt" ). Hollande also promised to develop the oncology service at the hospital in Tahiti. To date, despite years of battle only 19 of 1024 cases of victims of the testing, mostly personnel working on the military base, have actually received any compensation. Understandably there are numerous lobby groups linked to this issue, and it is one of the real core issues of the pro-independence movement here, like elsewhere.
I was rather ignorant of the details, and admit to being quite shocked by the information that's coming out now. Particularly that the tests continued so long, after a lot of the world had stopped in the 1960s. To add a bit of perspective, however, you have to tell that the UK and USA both did their share of nuclear testing. The UK conducted seven tests in the 1950s in the Australian desert near Maralinga, the inhabitants of the area still express concerns about the effectiveness of the clean-up program, the traditional owners of the land received 13.5 million AUS dollars in compensation in 1994. The USA tested nuclear weapons both in the Nevada desert, and also in the Marshall Islands (more Pacific island atolls, albeit remote) between 1942 and 1962, only 14% of the US tests occurred in the Pacific, but comprised 80% of the charge detonated (one of the individual bombs exceeded the combined force of all the French tests, and the total charge was 210 Megatons). The Marshall Islands are still contaminated by fallout and the USA has paid out over 759 million US dollars in compensation to victims. France initially started testing in Algeria in 1960, in the Sahara desert, under the initiative of General Charles DeGaulle, but the tests did not go well, with large amounts of contamination, recently de-classified reports talk of 13 days of significant fallout. They were also carried out against the backdrop of the Algerian war for independence, another subject of which I'm rather ignorant, though clearly plays an important role in the collective memory of France.
Nuclear testing, whether we like it or not, has and will continue to profoundly shape the trajectory of French Polynesia. Money can't compensate for that, and I'm not sure how ready or able the territory is to "turn the page" just yet.
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