Anger surges after book details damage from US nuclear waste in Pacific islands - Global Times

Public anger has grown after a new book revealed how the US poisoned various islands in the Pacific with toxic chemical waste that has endangered the lives of local people and seriously damaged ecosystems for decades. Chinese officials and experts have urged the US to reflect on the damage it has done and its repeated refusal to join international efforts to safeguard the environment.

The Marshall Islands, located between Hawaii and Australia, continue to be affected by US atomic tests long after some of its atolls were contaminated by nuclear waste and rendered uninhabitable for local residents as a result.

A new book, Poisoning the Pacific, written by British journalist Jon Mitchell, has detailed the US’ military use of toxic materials including radioactive waste, nerve agents, and dioxin-tainted Agent Orange across islands in the Pacific. A lot of irradiated soil has been transported and dumped on some of the islands.

The book cites 12,000 pages of documents released under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and quotes some of the island’s residents, as well as military veterans and researchers. It reveals how the US violated the human rights of local indigenous people and contaminated the ocean.
Mitchell’s book documents several attempts by the US departments of state and defense to block his work, The Guardian reported.