Pacific

Britain's nuclear legacy lingering in Kiribati

15:03 pm on 3 September 2019

A researcher says Britain's nuclear legacy in Kiribati still lingers 60 years on, with locals speaking of lasting concerns and a sense of abandonment.

Becky Alexis-Martin, from Manchester Metropolitan University, interviewed locals on Kirimati Island in Kiribati, where the British conducted nuclear testing in the 1950s.

The UK insists its tests in the Pacific were clean and caused no effect, unlike the US and France, which acknowledge some harm and have set up limited compensation schemes.

Dr Alexis-Martin told Jamie Tahana that with Britain in the midst of its so-called 'Pacific Uplift,' more needs to be done to help those on Kiritimati.

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Fijian troops on Christmas Island during Operation Grapple. Photo: Photo courtesy Mrs Loata Masi