Cactus Dome: The Nuclear Tomb in Paradise

Uncover the chilling truth behind the Cactus Dome, a crumbling nuclear tomb in the Marshall Islands. Dive into its history, environmental impact, and the ticking time bomb of rising sea levels.

[@d..c4808]

The old classic of sweeping the mess under a concrete rug.

[@kikipoms1670]

Literally! 😂

[@odinfromcentr2]

In this case, quite literally.

[@maddslothii2532]

they should have just told people it was a time capsule to be opened in 67,004 AD

[@yedidyah-jedshlomoh1533]

Physicians project that some 2.4 million people worldwide will eventually die from cancers due to atmospheric nuclear tests conducted between 1945 and 1980.

[@larrybremer4930]

I still cannot fathom how engineers and geologists ignored how tides affect sea water intrusion into adjacent aquifers. On a tiny, coral/sand atoll the soil would saturate at sea level and a rising tide will raise the aquifer brining in surrounding seawater that will intrude due to differences in head pressure between the inside and outside, then as tides fall the aquifer would again lower due to head pressure and that water has to go somewhere, which is back into the surrounding sea. Unless they made an underground watertight containment bowl the sea water is clearly going to intrude into the contents of the crater. All the dome is doing is keeping dry material from blowing away (which is a good thing) but all its really doing is slowing down the distribution of the contamination into the local environment.

[@Despair05]

I'm convinced this guy runs half the channels on youtube

[@hansbrandt6471]

So what? He provides highest quality entertainment! For free.

[@cookiecola5852]

@@hansbrandt6471 No, he provides high quality content for free Suck on that

[@Invertmini1212]

It's people reposting his content..

[@banger226]

@Despair05 😂 I’m with you. But at least Simon has a decent voice and isn’t monotone.

[@drywater_]

My guy is working overtime. I'd swear he has a dozen channels that upload daily.

[@julzmusic8708]

Finding another channel that Simon runs is like an advent calendar at Christmas.

[@FloozieOne]

p.s. I don't know how many channels Simon has and will probably never be able to watch them all, but the more the better! He is a wonderful presenter, and his humor is right on.

[@EnraEnerato]

Somehow something about this channel seems wrong to me? Are we sure this really is a channel of Simon? Stealing channels from the easter EU, india, Pakistan and Russia are a thing, even if Simon is from the Czech Republic and this is a channel from said republic?

[@beast667]

​@@EnraEnerato you're right, this might be stolen from his geographics channel 😮

[@ravinraven6913]

this isn't his channel..he has 9 channels that he works with, this isn't one maybe report it?

[@Gnomesaying315]

Same! His voice is so soothing! I love listening to him talk.

[@forcelightningcable9639]

Look, there are plenty of fantastic presenters on yt; Simon… well, he literally doesn’t know the content of what he’s presenting, his teams’s research rigor sucks to say the least, and his content carries a subtle but inescapable taste of Western jingoism. I don’t wish to rain on your parade and for that I apologize but I do hope that you’ll be able to move past him to better content.

[@p2hang38]

My grandfather was a member of Joint Task Force 7, part of Hardtack 1. The entire operation was a bit of a mess for JTF 7, and the sailors were told the operation would be 9 weeks, but it extended into almost 2 years. They served local seafood, knowing what it would do to the enlisted, taking away their dosimiters after the Yucca shot, and the sailors took trophies from the lagoon as the depth shots drained the lagoon. We had a chunk of coral in the house for years, that even in the early 2000s was tested as a highly active beta-emitter. The US did everything they could to avoid supporting both the locals or the sailors that were there.

[@Error_-qz2zr]

They didn't even tell them how dangerous it is there Or what happened. That's the US government for you all government lovers they don't care about your health about the troops or sailors,there family or about the native people they bomb or invade. Because the people in power are crooked politicals and generals, they are totally indifferent to pain and destruction they cause, it's really not they problem what's they problem is getting elected and in power

[@mareansim]

What happened to the coral chunk? Did it have any adverse effects on you or your fam?

[@davidhollenshead4892]

The crazy thing is that there is a more radioactive beach in Brazil. The radiation is natural and people seek it out thinking it will cure their ailments...

[@Error_-qz2zr]

@@davidhollenshead4892 have he made a video about it?

[@watcherit1311]

Are you sure that your grandfather didn't fight on the Normandy beach or some battleship in the Pacific like most anonymous "grandfathers" on the internet?

[@DuonRaven]

Future archeologist are gonna really have it hard... "What is it ancient relics, lost treasures?!" "Nope, just more cancer..." "Damn..."

[@AyRCee]

😂 wtf was they doing after ww2 just bombing the place. This nation they called America was crazy like the mongrels 😂

[@SoundShinobiYuki]

There’s a geographics video on the attempts to build a nuclear repository that’ll stay safe (and keep legible warnings about not opening it) for 10,000 years…

[@mrwhatever9025]

Or it becomes the new OAK ISLAND " On this week's episode we open the money pit " ☠☠☠😨😰😰

[@SoundShinobiYuki]

@@mrwhatever9025 Yeah, that’s why they’re struggling with “How the hell do we mark this as DANGER, KEEP OUT OR DIE” part when language can change so much in just a couple centuries, to say nothing of 10,000 years.

[@mrwhatever9025]

@@SoundShinobiYukiIm just joking

[@dangingerich2559]

One of my favorite shirts is one that says "If you trust the government, you don't know history" and this is a perfect example of why I believe that so wholeheartedly.

[@ZboeC5]

And yet look how many sheep today will believe whatever the Government tells them. I can't help but laugh at the fact that the party who used to protest the Government the most has done a complete 180 and now drinks the Government kool-aid by the bucket and even defends said Government and it's actions like it personally benefits them. I'll never understand it. People truly are dumb. Our Government has never cared about the people. Once they realized they could fleece us into paying income taxes they knew that no matter what they had won and we the people are the losers. They mock us, sicken us and kill us without any thoughts or care because they know they won and we can never do anything about it.

[@CRneu]

this is pretty silly logic. You can apply it to private companies, individuals, etc. Be a critical thinker and apply some thinking to every situation. You trust the government every day to deliver critical infrastructure, so this whole "herp derp guvmit bad" stuff is really dumb.

[@suckdickman6316]

I hate how everyone around me always trusts the gov to have their best intrest at heart. And when i point out endless times in the past they fucked over the public they go: yeah but that was then, its not like that now... Wilfully blind sheep is what they are. Also i want that shirt

[@suckdickman6316]

​@@CRneu gov provides infrastructure because it benefits the gov not because it benefits the citizens, gov is out for gov and big buisness is out for big buisness, sometimes the intrests of the public just align somewhat with their goals

[@ChristophBrinkmann]

​​@@CRneuAgreed. How much do you want to bet he's a "sovereign citizen"?

[@AwakeAtTheWheel]

My dad was one of the cleanup service members. He always blamed it for his breast cancer. Military denied his claims.

[@ellaisboring]

That's terrible, it seems that the military does so much to recruit people but nothing to look after them.

[@kitefan1]

I agree with him. I still see in my mind the shirtless sailors watching nuclear blasts from ship decks. At that point it wasn't generally understood of feared how dangerous radiation was, but the brass wanted to know how the sailors would be affected. Unconscionable. Also people like my Moms friend decommissioning asbestos coated war ships without even a mask. He died from mesothelioma.

[@vic5015]

Men *do* get breat cancer, but its *much* less common than in women because most breast tumors are fueled by estrogen. Imo, your dad had a pretty strong claim.

[@AwakeAtTheWheel]

@@vic5015 Thank you. I always mention that breast cancer gets men too whenever I donate to someone collecting for that cause.

[@AwakeAtTheWheel]

@@kitefan1 The part about them cleaning up without shirts and in shorts got me. That’s exactly what my dad said they had.

[@PatGinSD1]

I was there during the cleanup in 1977. I was only there for a few days, on a USN ship. We were not informed of any dangers and I didn't even become aware of what was being done there until 2021. We were given no PPE or even told there was a potential danger. We spent the next few weeks back hauling equipment used in the cleanup. I have so many medical issues that haven't been able to be diagnosed or treated. I'm a member of a FB group of veterans that served there for many months, most were not provided with any PPE, all were told it was safe. This is a another example of the US Military being thrown under the bus by the government.

[@karlheinzvonkroemann2217]

Neither was my uncle who was in the US Navy for the first test on a Submarine Tender July 1946. He got skin cancer on his scalp in his 80s but that was treated successfully.

[@Lodrik18]

maybe not use the picture of a child if you are over 60...

[@PatGinSD1]

That is my 22 year old son. He uses this account as well. I'm not sure why it is an issue.

[@brysonloko2456]

why does it matter so much. sound like a internet dictatorship jesus@@Lodrik18

[@Darts123456789]

Sure

[@mellbenham6809]

The biggest insult is the US promised the Marshall Islanders that once testing had been completed they would return the atoll in the same state they'd received it.

[@joseph-mariopelerin7028]

On the bright side, i think they are extremely lucky Americans didn't actually decide to bomb the island with them on it...

[@notyouraveragegoldenpotato]

To me the biggest insult is how history shows the US has a unmatched tendency to lie. Just page after page after page through history to this day. Not long ago they made it legal for the agencies to propogandize THE CITIZENS, not just enemies and foreign states. And since then the US citizens have been approached the exact same as foreign citizens and enemies. Although now we have the wonderful technology to have it fed straight to our faces 24/7

[@ace448]

I live in a community that has one of the largest Marshallese populations outside of the Marshal islands. I work in healthcare, the consequences of the testing are being felt even by the displace populations to this day

[@CinemaDemocratica]

Would that be in Arkansas by any chance? I saw a YT video about how Marshallese have found a new home for themselves in a medium-sized city in Arkansas, I believe they work at a chicken-processing plant? Tricky ethics but everyone seems to be getting along.

[@pennymayphilip9646]

@@CinemaDemocratica Wow. 'Everyone seems to be getting along' ? If this had been done on US soil there'd have been a massive outcry. But then it didn't, so the US couldn't care less. Ethics were a bit more than tricky........

[@CinemaDemocratica]

@@pennymayphilip9646 You *totally* missed the point of the side conversation: We were talking about the fact that there is a large Marshallese community in a U.S. city today. Every reference that you're pretending to be outraged about was to the fact that the community exists in the U.S.; not about how they got there.

[@UncleBadT]

"hey, im gonna take your islands from you" Nukes the shit out of the island "here are your islands back, sorry for the mess, but we put it in a pile for you" radiation leaks "not our problem, its not on our island yo, deal with it yourself" "but here's a few bucks cause we are nice"

[@chuckd9007]

They're lucky they got to go back in the first place.

[@ChristophBrinkmann]

​@@chuckd9007Yes, "lucky."

[@BlazinTigger]

They shouldn't have accepted independence until the mess was cleaned. It's legally not our responsibility anymore, they took the land knowing what was done there, dealing with that stuff should have been their first goal as a nation.

[@UncleBadT]

@@BlazinTigger watch the video @9:57 and tell me they knew what they were getting again

[@louismccomack9524]

@@chuckd9007boy you sure are dense

[@robertfolkner9253]

Master Sergeant John Woods, the hangman at the Nürnberg Trials, was sent to work on Eniwetok as a member of an Army Engineering brigade in 1951. True to form, he attempted to repair a lighting system without first securing the power and was practically incinerated by the amperage.

[@hmichaelr1]

So that's why they gave him a noose and not an electric chair?

[@crazytrain03]

My grandpa was an Army MP stationed in the Bikini Atolls. He ended up getting radiation damage to his legs from the contaminated waters...from the knees down. Later on his legs turned black almost and he could hardly stand up without pain. He made it to 84 years old through it all....RIP grandpa 😟

[@BxBxProductions]

he kept his legs even tho it turned black from rad damage? my dude, dead tissue feels no pain.

[@crazytrain03]

@@BxBxProductions It damaged his nerves and the blood vessels in his lower legs. The pain he felt wasn't from his skin, it was the lack of blood flow causing his legs to swell and his literal bones hurting when he stood up. His legs were dying...not radiation burnt. Don't even come here trying to tell me anything. I grew up going with him to VA appointments and helping him around the house, I've seen the paperwork, the pictures, and heard all the stories. He used to talk about having to pull guard on a bunker, that when the high tide came in, the road to it flooded. They would have to wade across with no ppe...just a flashlight, pistol and service uniform. Cool fact: He got to take home his M14 when he got out. He never said how he managed that, but it was 110% locked in his gun-safe my whole life, that my dad now has after he passed away in 2020.

[@RECTALBURRITO]

My grandpa was too. He died in his 70s because of cancer and tumors all over his body almost 30 years ago.

[@Cloudy_Jones]

@@BxBxProductionsyeah but I’m sure you will still feel immense pain at the point where the dead flesh meets still living flesh, especially if you’re trying to put weight onto the dead parts.

[@Taylor-uo3nb]

The side view old school news anchor shot is good. Way better then the annoying vintage TV cuts with distorted audio some of your videos have been using. I can’t thank you for this enough

[@goodbodha]

They need to go back and build a coffer dam around it and start the process of isolating the site from the impact from waves. The goal of that would not be to permanently resolve the issue, but rather to buy time. The worst thing would be if they fail to do anything until the situation deteriorates significantly and then realize they must do something. Better to keep options open. A large coffer dam would be expensive and it would deteriorate without substantial maintenance, but it could also buy quite a few more years for the dome itself.

[@BxBxProductions]

couldnt they just let it dry out, collect the sludge and dump it under the ocean

[@tealkerberus748]

They need to dig up the whole mess and take it back to mainland US. They held that land "UNDER TRUST" and firstly bombed the shit out of it, then didn't even bother to take their trash with them when they left. Nobody in the entire Pacific region wants that stuff just left there while the sea rises and eventually covers it. The US made the mess, the US can take it home with them.

[@CaptainDickGs]

@@BxBxProductionsHuh? Let it dry out & then dump it in water? How would that help? Are you being sarcastic?

[@CaptainDickGs]

Well the dome or tomb as locals call it was designed as a temporary solution & we see how it is still there & abandoned.

[@Harriet1822]

That probably would not work. Let's construct an analogy. Weave a wicker basket. Dig a hole in a sandbank next to a stream. Put the basket in the hole, so that the brim is at ground level. Fill the basket with radioactive waste. Put an impermeable cap on the basket. Measure radioactivity of the stream water. See the issue? The sandbank is porous. Coral is porous. More economical just to supply the residents with Nebraska beef, open ocean tuna, and mainland US vegetables. Let the crater leak. It will make a microscopic contribution to the Pacific level of radioactivity. Meanwhile, ambient contamination protects the Enewetak reef from human predation, for the same reason you can't eat venison from the Chernobyl exclusion zone. The diving is spectacular. The HCU1 CO, Tom Stone, died of cancer.

[@TowManG]

How many channels does Simon have? Just keep finding more and more.

[@Spiritus_Invictus]

Legends has it that he secretly own them all.

[@alrise1776]

Lol I just found fact boi's Places channel right now!

[@gragor11]

Clone channels are quite the problem right using stolen content. Kyle Hill just did a video about it kzbin.info/www/bejne/kH7JnGCwhZmrqJI

[@gabonesmith4750]

his morgage went up

[@christopherlewis1847]

Simon is just that talented.

[@GrievousReborn]

This is just where the United States tested their nuclear weapons the UK and France also tested their nukes on a bunch of islands and atolls in territories they control and then there's the other 6 nuclear armed Nations testing their nukes in various places in their countries I wonder how much environmental damage has been caused by nine Nations testing their nuclear weapons

[@SLChandlerP]

they still suffering cause of this. reason why New Zealand became Nuclear free, cause of what other countries were doing in the South Pacific, then shortly after France bombed a Greenpeace ship in Auckland Harbour.

[@richardh8082]

@GrievousReborn Maybe America can just take responsibility for their own tests then, rather than saying "everone else was doing it"? Typical Whataboutism

[@SoManyRandomRamblings]

Also...besides what you listed. The U.S. left radioactive waste in 67 different locations around the world that climate change will increase their leakage into our environment (mostly oceans)

[@mariawhite7337]

​@SoManyRandomRamblings don't forget Russia. Literaly nuked a lake so much it's one the most contaminated places in the world.

[@SoManyRandomRamblings]

@@mariawhite7337 lots of countries have. There are so many spots of pollution left by careless humans

[@GrievousReborn]

It really pisses me off when I hear about a country not seeming to care if their servicemen are harmed or killed because of something like nuclear testing or clean up (US) testing of nerve agents (UK)

[@haworthlowell805]

Educate yourself about Russia and China then.

[@stultusvenator3233]

But don't worry the industrial complex Billionaire owners made a ton of money, go capitalism without controls. "But look at all the jobs created."

[@nt78stonewobble]

Well, to serve like that is to risk death for your country. This just isn't the way people imagined it.

[@DanteTheAbyssalBeing]

@@haworthlowell805 Nice whataboutery. These nations all treat soldiers terribly, there's no point deflecting America's guilt onto China and Russia. Everyone's bad.

[@donreinke5863]

In Britain it wasnt just nerve agents. Theres this place called Windscale/Sellafield........ If it hadnt been for Cockroft, a good chunk of Britain would be no better than places in the Soviet Union where nuclear projects were conducted.

[@matthewmorse2380]

Simon, you’ve already had a few videos on this channel and I finally got recommended. I had no idea you had a new channel. I think maybe blaze would be a good channel to send notifications or some thing on new channels you come out with. I assume lots of us over there would be a good group to be tolerant of the occasional notification. For context, I don’t do any social media so I wouldn’t of heard about it any other way. Just some general feedback, basically watch everything you do. Keep up the great work.

[@gennystout8952]

I got my notification from "videos you may like". I saw Simon and clicked....then subscribed.

[@matthewmorse2380]

@@gennystout8952me too, well I saw it as a recc video by KZbin, then subbed :)

[@kewqie]

This is not his channel, just a spam one reposting his videos.

[@matthewmorse2380]

@@kewqie seriously? That’s terrible

[@ericvulgate7091]

Do you think he's been notified?

[@Hillbilly001]

All right, let's goooo! Well done Factboi! Cheers from Tennessee

[@Kevin-ju1kb]

Same!! Memphis.

[@Hillbilly001]

@@Kevin-ju1kb Henry County. Cheers

[@brucekinghorn4961]

Maybe you could consider a follow up to this with a discussion abour the French testing on Mururoa Atoll. These tests while less frequent lasted significantly longer.

[@lesliebright3860]

A couple of decades ago, a coworker of mine was an engineer who had been in the US Army Corps of Engineers, had worked on Enewetak… I’d heard of Bikini but not Enewetak until I met him. Interesting to ponder, how to tackle the situation…

[@devdawg22]

I happen to live in one of the cities with the largest Marshal Islander populations. They definitely have their own culture. They get to come here because of what we did and they settle here because they mostly work at Tyson. I think Fayetteville Arkansas has a good size population of them as well

[@CaptainDickGs]

That’s horribly sad & f’d up! We tricked them, poisoned their home, & then enslaved them to our system of slavery. How demeaning to go from free people unaware of the outside world to being workers of Tyson.

[@P.Hermano]

Not sure if Simon knows that right after this video, a Critical NOTAM was posted centered on this location warning of potential radiation leak and covers thousands of miles. A very strange coincidence.

[@EEsmalls]

The more i learn about world history, the more i want to move to Mars.

[@Castle_Bravo.]

Home ❤. My maternal grandmother was from Bikini Atoll.

[@georgemetcalf8763]

Oooo, do the underground garbage fire in St. Louis that is burning toward buried nuclear waste.

[@stultusvenator3233]

Your kidding ????

[@georgemetcalf8763]

@@stultusvenator3233 no, it's legitimate. Periodically there's an newspaper article checking its progress.

[@stultusvenator3233]

@@georgemetcalf8763 Shit ,,,,,!! These things need acting on as priority, not wait for disaster or last minute. FFS. I recall in the 80's maybe early 90's. A closed down nuclear reactor in San Francisco has been used to store expended nuclear rods (highly radioactive) awaiting far off better option. The plant sat right on the San Andreous Fault, while geologists were saying we were due or overdue for a big one. How dumb is that!!!! (could still be there).

[@rejectedjeepers7317]

Watched a documentary a while back and they could have prevented the spread but didn't. The story is crazy.

[@bunyipdragon9499]

Never heard if it do I did the old Google and all I can say is - Holy Sh*t 😮

[@annaleas2091]

had to look up what concrete spalling was. maybe in next episode, include brief definition of the more unusual terms? but otherwise, this was terrifying. good job!

[@AmericanMX]

A friend of mine was one who was out there from 1977-1980. He lives in Hawaii and last i spoke with him he was battling cancer. Not a coincidence. All he told me it was a mess out there. He gave me a patch that they were given for being out there.

[@saraseifert6005]

Immediately at 8 seconds you sound like you're calling Bikini Atoll asshole...lol. Love it!

[@HaveYouSeenMyDad_]

I was waiting since 2015 for an update about this. 🙄 Thanks for this 😊

[@seayafishing]

I was part of the Army “clean-up” crew. Many of my workmates died before 60 years of age! Radiation and contamination! We were housed on the same little island that he mentions being hit with the bio-agent bomb. I was also part of the filling of the dome while our Army Amphibious craft carried TONS of debris for dumping in either the dome, or directly into the water of the lagoon! That’s right, they had us dump supposed lightly contaminated dirt, metal and cement debris right into the water!

[@JakotaDaGimp]

Source:Trust me bro

[@feargodkojo6121]

Your documentaries are very beautiful and educative ❤❤❤ Thank you

[@maryrose9292]

Early because I got the notification right after watching todays video on Warographics 😅

[@tankerboysabot]

I'm convinced all this guy does is narrate 8 hours straight everyday for 6 days a week for various channels from start to finish with every video. Absolutely one take per video and no edits or cuts, just reading off a script for 8 hours straight.

[@ravinraven6913]

you mean like a normal 9-5 job? he lives in Progue Czech Republic. If you lived in a country where you didn't really speak the language, youd do something around the internet too...

[@brysonloko2456]

your real fun huh

[@angelahanthron6365]

If it pays the bills, why not?

[@tankerboysabot]

@@angelahanthron6365 sure. I'm not hating on him. Just saying he is good at what he does.

[@sgtrabbi]

One of the last survivors of the military clean up crew lives near me. He was never able to have kids, his bones are barely holding together. The VA finally granted him a 100% disability. Contact me if you want to speak with him 🐏

[@CenobiteBeldar]

What’s that icon at the end after “him”? Is that a sheep? Why that icon?

[@sgtrabbi]

@@CenobiteBeldar my calling card 🐏

[@justaduck3615]

@@sgtrabbi*Picks up sheep* Sgtrabbi was here. . .

[@zetsubouda]

People are surprised that the bottom of a pit created by a *nuclear explosion* is not sealed and allowing materials to infiltrate below? Like that didn't occur to a single geologist or engineer maybe? I'm a civil engineer and pretty sure I wouldn't build a shed on a foundation that suspect.

[@mariakelly90210]

I'm familiar with the Marshall Islands because I'm a WW2 Buff. I didn't know about the Catus Dome, though.

[@davidhorizon8401]

We (the U.S.) should improve this dome while it is easier to do. Once it is underwater, it will be much harder to fix. We created the mess, we need to clean it up!

[@Sara-lm8zv]

I was there in 2005. Great people, the Marshallese.

[@aurorapaths]

Love this new channel!

[@mgralley]

I knew someone who was a part of the testing at Bikini Atoll. Operation Crossroads. Said that it was the most afraid he had been of something at the time. Said he could see his bones in his hands before he hit the deck of the ship he was on. Hell of a guy. Killer sense of humor.

[@JD57R]

I was part of the cleanup mission. Of the 8,000 some military and civilian contractors, there are fewer than 500 of us left. We all drank the water where nuclear waste was dumped into the lagoon.

[@redhotmoon1656]

Did you get your White Card from the govt? You should be entitled to free nursing care for any health issues related to it

[@ArtisticlyAlexis]

I had to check to make sure this wasn’t someone stealing your content, since those AI & “fake” channels are a *plague* right now!

[@kampradooka5024]

did u get your proof? heard the rumor and couldnt find any evidence for or against, and i dont wanna help fund a content thief if i can help it

[@happilyretired]

Thank goodness those radioisotopes are thousands of miles away from the lower 48.

[@markae0]

They will stay there for the most part. Not like the strontium-90 in above ground nuke bombs

[@danielmcgillis270]

Also the inspiration for SpongeBob SquarePants.

[@S.M.Lipinski]

I came to the comments looking for this!😂

[@OpEditorial]

Simon Whistler kicking off the new year with yet another channel to be the host of.

[@twelvewingproductions7508]

The average elevation of the Martial islands above sea level... ... is 7ft. IF... the water rises to any level significant to that dome... they are going to have other things to worry about. Just sayin. Another great video Simon. I have been a fan of your narration for years.

[@lookitsgordo]

They've already determined that the soil outside of the dome is and has been actually more radioactive than what's inside, partially because it has seeped out anyways. So what they predict is that any release of what's inside would not raise radiation levels to any significant levels higher than they already are, and will be diluted lol

[@LoboDeNoche87]

Thank you for all you do

[@Kevin-ju1kb]

I feel like it should be bleeped every time Simon says “atoll”

[@unicorn.mushroom]

"clean up the atoll"

[@mariakelly90210]

Why, pray tell?

[@Lectrikfro]

I had to back up a few times at the start because I keep hearing "Bikini asshole"

[@singingsquirrel2030]

Definitely the first time.

[@Kevin-ju1kb]

@@Lectrikfro me too bro lolol

[@Istandby666]

My biological father grew up at kwajalein, marshall Island. My grandfather worked Top Secret projects for the government.

[@reecedrury4145]

Does annoy me armed forces being used as 'free labour'. Im in the UK, ex forces. Fire service strikes, army called, police strike; armed called (when we earn less....) When i was in, there was an issue with people getting onto one of the bases. So what happened one weekend, half the regt forced to stay with no protective gear to cover the entire perimeter in razor wire....

[@BlazinTigger]

Not only will they use you as free labor, but when you're injured from that labor they have endless dollars to pay legal teams to make sure they never have to pay for the injuries caused. "No sir I won't work on nuclear cleanup" dishonorable discharge and jail time. "I wonder why we can't recruit" our military is a joke, it's powerful but it's one of the worst employers in the nation

[@doctorkdsify]

I believe that while loading a nuclear reactors in Canada the fuel spilled. Unlike most nuclear fuel these were balls of a radioactive material. The balls were small enough to be easily picked up. Canada ran the Army through the reactor room with each person picking up as many balls as possible and bringing the balls out. All of the balls were picked up. The soldiers could only run through the building once a year. It was a 5 minute trip.

[@joeyr7294]

That one section of the shelf in the back reminds me of Mr. Olivander's wand shop. (not that Simon would know that) Thanks for the content as always Simon and Co. 🍻

[@slycooper1001]

did you mean Olivander's? - because that is the only name I can associate with the phrase "wand shop."

[@joeyr7294]

@@slycooper1001 yes, lmao 🤣 I made that comment on my mobile and was busy so I didn't even pay attention to autocorrects and what not lol. Thank you, I'll fix it now!

[@travellingwithsteve1384]

I live in Majuro and really enjoyed this episode. Just wanted to say that the AI generated picture of the lagoon with a mountain in the background wouldn't exist when people are there. The highest natural point in the whole country is 30ft. Very nice episode though.

[@jaredharband5948]

This video should be titled "Radioactive Paradise: How America Continually Dicked Over the Marshall Islands"

[@turtleboy4111]

Can't believe that engineer didn't know about the atoll testing until 2019.

[@SkunkApe407]

What? You think that being an engineer means you know everything about nuclear testing sites? As a Civil Engineer, I must have missed that whole semester.

[@robertb6889]

As a chemical engineer it just never was relevant to my curriculum.

[@turtleboy4111]

@@SkunkApe407 I never said that, nor was I implying anything of the sort. I was just surprised, because bikini atoll testing zone has been public knowledge for some time now, before 2019 anyway.

[@demofighter]

He was a mushroom at the time.

[@gragor11]

@@SkunkApe407 No, you weren't paying attention. I would think that you would have been a perfect candidate to work there as apparently you think knowledge is something that is learned in semesters at school.

[@Smilley85]

This is not just a problem with the fallout of weapons testing - similar issues arise with the long-term containment of spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants. It's also a problem conveniently left out by proponents of "clean nuclear power". Sure, it takes much less material to produce the same wattage as a fossil fuel plant, and has less immediate environmental effects of CO2 and soot emissions, but the long-term viability is significantly worse, and if the "out of sight, out of mind" mentality displayed here is any indication, the general public won't know about stuff like this until it's way too late.

[@TheGiggleMasterP]

If only they'd used Roman concrete. 😅

[@Morristown337]

Its ok. its not like burying the waste on a volcano is ok. They don' erupt anymore, just in the past...

[@rashkavar]

@@Morristown337 A quick google search suggests the nearest volcano is Wōdejebato, some 74km to the northwest. And that is an extinct volcano likely formed by a hotspot now in French Polynesia. So yeah, not erupting anymore, just in the past. Additionally, having a volcano bury the waste in layer after layer of fresh igneous rock would be a very good way of sealing it away. Of course, some volcanoes slowly ooze lava out when they erupt, some just blow up the mountain. Krakatoa would not be a good choice for volcano disposal sites, for instance.

[@OGRH]

@@Morristown337 you might want to reread your comment... It's an oxymoron.

[@Morristown337]

It was sarcasm. I guess it does not type well. of course I know that volconoes erupt. @@OGRH

[@OGRH]

@@Morristown337 gotcha I thought maybe voice to speech slipped a gremlin in there. You know how they like to change the whole meaning of everything we type with just one simple word hidden in just the right spot. I'm beginning to think they do that shit on purpose.

[@alexschettino1277]

I love that the first recommended video after this one is a CBS 60mins on this same topic released 6years ago

[@stay.in.school.]

bikini bottom is under bikini atoll, Spongebob is a living, irradiated kitchen sponge prepping crab burgers...

[@Jameywells777]

Cool video Simon

[@cameronward9443]

It's pretty dispicable that the USA invested billions and billions and billons in propping up and re-industrializing Japan post World War 2, but these islands who were just bystanders to two empires fighting across their territories were left with radioactive islands to inhabit and the US could only approve 20 million to clean them up...

[@KyzylReap]

My dad’s Seabee unit was on Eniwetok in WW2.

[@michaelterrell]

If the sea is rising, it will become uninhabitable anyway.

[@tommunyon2874]

When I was stationed on Guam, I came to recognize the area of the Marshall Islands as the apparent calving ground area for many typhoons. The Pacific Daily News was our source for tracking the progress of typhoons in those days.

[@Harriet1822]

My reserve unit participated in the cleanup (I'm a guy). The Runit dome leaks because coral is porous, not because the dome is cracked. The inhabitants of the atoll cannot eat the reef fish because of contamination. This would be true if the dome were not leaking. Rivers across this planet cut through ore bodies and carry radioactive elements into the ocean. The Cactus dump will make an undetectable difference to the level 500 miles away. The reef is beautiful for the same reason that the Chernobyl exclusion zone is beautiful (plus, tropical reef, duh).

[@lemonlily4022]

I found this more distressing than the usual Casual Criminalist content 😭 but thanks Simon and team.

[@josephgreen7404]

Commenting for the algorithm

[@tonyahinrichs8828]

Me too!

[@tonyahinrichs8828]

I'm also really bored. Where you live? Whatcha doing? Let's rack up these comments!

[@josephgreen7404]

Just a casual Kentuckian here lmao

[@tonyahinrichs8828]

@@josephgreen7404 nice! We're so close! I'm in Indiana lol

[@josephgreen7404]

Lmao small world huh?

[@Snarmeggedon]

Simon i know you said 'Bikini ATOL' but that is... Not what I heard. And now i cant unhear it, its made this video even more enjoyable.

[@cat637d]

Same here, replayed multiple times.

[@xXIronSausageXx]

Yeah this is how you create a Godzilla.😂

[@stalkingtiger777]

I just noticed Simon's newest channel. The Cult of Simon spreads its reaches further still.

[@caseymacdonald878]

My grandfather was there in the 40s on a transport to help with the stuff and they gave all the guys a card for a lifetime cancer treatment he died at 91, not cancer🤷‍♂️, he got to watch a couple of the nuclear tests on the deck.

[@mariakelly90210]

Did your Grandfather tell you what the nuclear explosion he saw looked like?

[@caseymacdonald878]

@@mariakelly90210 he got to watch multiple from miles away, they were terrifying and being an immigrant is solidified the fact that he wanted to be an American they could feel the heat and the Shockwave from the deck

[@caseymacdonald878]

@@mariakelly90210 the way he describes it similar to the Beirut explosion, and he said it looked exactly like the videos that we have now of early test where there was a cool looking mushroom cloud.

[@danielcampos9785]

great beard...no idea what your talking about...but your beard is awesome love it.....

[@ericplace367]

What the US did there gives a whole new meaning to the word “trusteeship” (2.48). I wouldn’t trust them with anything.

[@SkunkApe407]

Guess what? We don't trust any of y'all! That's why we spend so much on defense and military. Got a problem with it? Too bad. We stopped giving a shit about international opinions right around the time we had to get involved in saving European asses for a second time. Of you really have a problem with the US, petition your government to leave NATO. Tell them to leave the UN. The US provides over 90% of the funding and manpower for both coalitions. Step out from under the protective umbrella of American influence, and see how long your nation lasts as a truly independent nation.

[@alrise1776]

You shouldn't. They've proven that time after time

[@jaytaylor629]

I find it so funny when Americans say that they don't trust the Russian or Chinese governments when the American government is just as equally distrustful, if not THE most distrustful government in the world. The rising Anti-American sentiment growing worldwide is totally justified.

[@haworthlowell805]

Untill you're invaded or hsve a disaster then the USA is the first country you'll call expecting their checkbook to be wide open!

[@johanderek3383]

Interesting how there is no observable sea level change in the pictures from 1980 and 2024.

[@LocomotiveThought]

From the Earth it came, to the Earth it shall return.

[@stultusvenator3233]

Remember it is all natural and god made no problem at all.

[@LocomotiveThought]

@@stultusvenator3233 life is a cancer of the universe. That's why it's so rare.

[@stultusvenator3233]

@@LocomotiveThought You are a sad little fellow. How do you know it is rare ? Have you been and looked everywhere in the universe? I think it is common as muck based on the evidence.

[@LocomotiveThought]

@@stultusvenator3233 your one of the space religion people I guess. Humans will become extinct one day. There's nowhere to go dummy.

[@vennom14]

The US also only recently approved the Veterans Affairs to cover the radiation diseases that the military personnel suffered.

[@muleteam66]

More SpongeBob's on the way.

[@Iamthelolrus]

Maybe do Amchitka island next? Lesser known test site.

[@RPSchonherr]

That concrete cap is like putting a bandaid on a bubonic plague bubo. The surrounding area and groundwater still have a lot of contamination.

[@moonman8450]

Yet another channel of Simon‘s and crew I didn’t know existed

[@markstott6689]

Why do I not trust the US government when it comes to the Marshall Islands? 😮😮😮

[@donaldcarey114]

Much less my health care or my right to self defence.

[@alrise1776]

I don't trust the US government on anything. They hate us and are trying to unalive us

[@markstott6689]

@@donaldcarey114 That's right. You stand strong for US private health care's right to bankrupt your fellow citizens and for gun advocates to massacre children and other innocents.

[@brucelytle1144]

Don't trust them for ANYTHING!

[@stultusvenator3233]

It is more specific (and often hidden behind the curtain) unconscionable people driving these decisions.

[@Nick45516]

Simon has ENDLESS CONTENT

[@donaldcarey114]

The half life of the isotopes concerned was not mentioned - strange....

[@theairstig9164]

Cesium 137 half life is 30 years. Strontium 90 is about the same. Plutonium 239 24000 years. Probelmatically

[@donreinke5863]

@@theairstig9164 The only isotope no longer a threat is Iodine 131 which has a half-life of a few days. A lesser mentioned isotope of Cesium..134...may also be present there

[@donaldcarey114]

@@theairstig9164 I knew that, my point was that as these radioactive substances age they lose strength. There will come a time when most of this waste will become so weak it will be no longer a threat.

[@Neion8]

@@donaldcarey114 True, but while radiation poisoning is temporary, heavy metal poisoning is forever. ... Why did a crunchy guitar riff play in my head after posting that?

[@donaldcarey114]

@@Neion8 The riff was your confused brain cells bumping off each other. Pathetic.

[@carddamom188]

Another Simon channel? I'm in... Take me in repetillian lord!!!!!

[@FloozieOne]

This is so scary. I had heard of the dome a few times but didn't really know what it was and the horror it contained. I was an X-ray tech for over 25 years and so am conversant about radiation exposure. We had personal dosimeters, (this is still true), and if our reading was too high we had to stop working for a while. This only happened once I believe but there were quite a few warnings given out. Now techs are allowed about 10 times the dosage patients get and even so it is tiny, but we studied the physics and biology of radiation as well as the easy contamination from chemicals used in developing films. I decided to do a little experiment. I took the total amount of radioactive material in the dome (from the best estimates I could find) then figured out the total amount of radioactive decay/year. I then compared that to my total amount of radiation from 25 years of X-ray work and came up with the incredible figure that my exposure was .00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000023 of that dome. The idea that there is a pile of that stuff already poisoning that lagoon and killing coral and fish and whatever is positively terrifying. If that dome cracks or becomes submerged that whole area of the ocean will suffer, and with the extremely low degrading of the materials it could last for 1,000nds of years.

[@Birdofgreen]

First off, thousands of years is for extremely low levels. As simon mentioned, the radiation level is lower than in central park. Also, the total dosage is assuming you consumed the entire domes contents all at once, so it is of course astronomically higher because it is a rediculous measure. The heavy metals produced are the concern, not the radiation levels. You would get a higher dose from being out in the sun measuring the radiation than you would standing on the dome measuring its radiation levels.

[@samwise1790]

Recent surveys of the area have shown that the material of the atoll around the dome is generally more radioactive than the dome itself (which is also unlined....and at the ground water line, so it freely interacts with the environment). So the tomb breaking apart would not effectively raise the radioactivity of the area. If you think about it it, it isnt so ridiculous. The only solution would have been to remove the entire atoll to a given depth and transport and entomb it elsewhere, which is pretty unfeasible

[@Fractal_blip]

Wow found another channel. Crazy.

[@kellybrincks]

The fact that the US Government has created so many environmental disasters, but still deny or refuse to do anything is very gross. Oh, I'm sorry, I guess the bare minimum is good enough. And to claim none of this has anything to do with our environment at this time is quite stupid and dangerous

[@A_Certain_Point_of_View]

Meanwhile in lake Karachy 😅

[@coeal2680]

Thats the American way for everything. Half assed bare minimum.

[@wolfrickthedesigner4748]

Well let us know where you originate from I'm not American myself I don't mean any harm or to "catch you out" I just wanted too point out the hypocrisy of your comment to get you to question in your mind who you see as the "main cause" of pollution because every nation has blood on its hands or so to speak in the game of littering and destroying our earth and that was committed by humans unfortunately me and you both exactly that

[@Hillbilly001]

You should find out how the Russians cleaned up their nuclear test sites.

[@derekmoody9481]

​@@Hillbilly001couple of guys with a hose and a broom.

[@victorvandyke9898]

Just amazing! Pouring those concrete slabs and the replacement of two of them? How? Where did the concrete come from? So many questions!

[@InspectorGadget923]

Sea levels have been consistently rising at the rate of about one inch per decade. It's not the ticking time bomb the video would have you believe.

[@Chris-hx3om]

That rate is unlikely to stay. I'll increase as levels do rise.

[@tutekohe1361]

All marine volcanic cones are subject to subsidence which varies, but like the Hawaiian islands, can be very rapid.

[@cat637d]

@@tutekohe1361 Oh, the Spamanity of it...

[@Enjoymentboy]

So THIS is where Godzilla get's created. Cool!!!

[@johannerahbk8602]

This makes Me so goddamn angry

[@Dadbodgaming4]

The way he says "atoll" in the intro😂

[@LuisHernandez-xy1uk]

What’s more gross is that we send billions to other countries and leave places like the marshal Islands, Hawaii and Ohio to deal with radiation, a burnt town and with chemicals in the water.

[@JimKJeffries]

Even worse. Obviously the state of Ohio failed in rail safety oversight. Then a public servant took the rail accident and created an internationally banned chemical weapon. The servants involved have yet to be arrested

[@corey4109]

I would rather not send billions to Ohio. Ohio state is there

[@slayingroosters4355]

What's more gross is that they could afford to do both... Why only pick one?

[@charlottewolery558]

Welp, that's capitalism for you. Communism kills you directly,, capitalism kills you to save money. I'd be for a third position if a third position seemed viable.

[@bigjared8946]

Still haven't cleaned up their mess in Hanford either.

[@drTERRRORRR]

I'm stealing that mushroom comparison.

[@dylvasey]

As per usual America doing what it wants to poorer countries. It should be made to completely remove all traces of material and put it all in Washington.

[@lst1nwndrlnd]

Damn. Thanks for the reminder

[@TheMonkeyworks105]

What really grinds my gears is , WTF would you do that to such a beautiful place. there's so much wasteland in Texas.

[@phillipjacobson4457]

I agree with your statement. The people of the usa banned nuclear testing in the usa. Or government decided to hide there testing. And moved the tests from Nevada to these islands. May have also been relocated due to spies. This also started the hidding of biological experiments and test for the medical fields.

[@haworthlowell805]

Ever heard of Nevada?

[@TheMonkeyworks105]

@@haworthlowell805 that's where we store the Stargate.

[@charlesroeckeriv6226]

Dang! And I wanted to take my wife to Eniwetok for our wedding anniversary.