Runit Dome

In the mid to late 1970s, the U.S. conducted cleanup operations at the Enewetak Atoll by stripping off successive layers of contaminated soil to reduce the level of Pu in surface soils.

The waste soil and other radiologically contaminated debris were mixed with cement grout, placed inside the crater formed from the Cactus nuclear weapons test, and covered with a circular, dome-shaped concrete cap

The containment structure, built in the late 1970s, contains over 100,000 cubic yards of radioactively contaminated soil and debris that were encapsulated in concrete (waste pile) inside an unlined nuclear test crater

The Runit Dome is not in any immediate danger of collapse or failure

there are no data to suggest that the dome, or more specifically, the radioactive material encapsulated within the containment structure, is currently having a measurable adverse effect on the surrounding environment

The main risk posed by the dome will be derived from the flow of contaminated groundwater from beneath the containment structure into the local marine environment.

the Government of the Marshall Islands assumed responsibility for, and control of, the utilization of areas in the Marshall Islands affected by the nuclear testing program, thereby ending the U.S. role and responsibility for the Runit Dome.

The site has remained a concern to the people of Enewetak and their leadership.

Runit Island has remained uninhabited to the present day.

Construction of the containment structure was completed in 1979.

He received information indicating that the structural integrity of the nuclear waste container is substandard

I’ve just been with the president of the Marshall Islands [Hilda Heine], who is very worried because there is a risk of leaking of radioactive materials that are contained in a kind of coffin in the area.