
Moruroa files
Investigation into French nuclear tests in the Pacific
Investigation into French nuclear tests in the Pacific
Disclose and Interprt, in collaboration with the Science & Global Security program at Princeton University (USA), investigated the consequences of atmospheric testing in French Polynesia for two years. With the help of thousands of declassified military documents, hundreds of hours of calculations and dozens of unpublished testimonies, this investigation demonstrates for the first time the extent of the radioactive fallout that struck the inhabitants of this vast territory as the ‘Europe.
According to our calculations, based on a scientific reassessment of the doses received, approximately 110,000 people were infected, almost the entire Polynesian population at the time. Modelling toxic clouds to support, we also unveil how the French authorities have concealed the true impact of nuclear testing on the health of Polynesians for more than fifty years.
“A denial of reality”, “a stubborn silence”… Four years after Disclose’s revelations, the parliamentary commission of inquiry on nuclear testing in French Polynesia has confirmed the extent of the state’s cover-up since the 1960s. The members of parliament are calling for the compensation scheme for civilian and military victims to be overhauled.
France has consistently underestimated the devastating impact of its nuclear tests in French Polynesia in the 1960s and 70s, according to groundbreaking new research that could allow more than 100,000 people to claim compensation.