Changed Circumstances Petition, 2000

In September 2000, the Marshall Islands government submitted to the United States Congress a Changed Circumstances Petition requesting additional compensation

if such injuries rendered the provisions of the Compact "manifestly inadequate."

The Petition argues that "new and additional" information since the enactment of the Compact -- such as a wider extent of radioactive fallout than previously known or disclosed and more recent radiation protection standards -- constitute "changed circumstances."

requesting, over a 50-year period, approximately $3.3 billion for personal injuries, property damages, medical care and training, and radiological monitoring

They add that a large proportion of the expenditures noted in the Administration report supported U.S. government research into the effects of radiation upon human beings and the environment and benefitted U.S. interests, but did not directly benefit communities affected by the nuclear testing.

The Thornburgh report concluded that the Tribunal: fulfilled the basic functions contemplated by the U.S. Congress and the Marshall Islands legislature

the Marshall Islands' request does not qualify as "changed circumstances" within the meaning of Article IX of the nuclear claims settlement agreement

The report suggests that the NCT granted personal injury awards too liberally.

The weight of expert scientific evidence indicates that the present impact of radioactive fallout on the Marshall Islands is limited to the northerly atolls and islands

between 1954 and 2004, the United States spent over $500 million on nuclear test compensation and related assistance in the Marshall Islands.

In March 2002, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and House Resources Committee requested that an interagency group (U.S. Departments of State, Energy, and Defense) evaluate the petition

But the Marshallese do not consider the tribunal to be fully adjourned and claim roughly $3 billion in “uncompensated damages.”

The United States asserts that the compact and the tribunal “constitute the full settlement of all claims, past, present, and future, of the government, citizens and nationals of the Marshall Islands related to the nuclear testing program.”

draft legislation submitted to Congress shows that the package includes $700 million to underwrite a new Marshall Islands trust fund

Efforts made by the Government of the United States of America deserve commendation, as some $600 million has been spent in various technical programmes.

To date, Congress has not acted on the petition.

Unfortunately Chiyoko was never given a chance to tell her story and her trip was wasted.