Marshall Islands: Statusof the Nuclear Claims Trust Fund
Huntington, A. H. (1992). Marshall Islands: Statusof the Nuclear Claims Trust Fund (Report). Washington, DC: Government Accountability Office.
- Has attachment: File:H53THW92.pdf
Abstract: Between 1946 and 1958, the United States used two atolls-Bikini and Enewetak-in the Marshall Islands as nuclear test sites.’ In 1954, a shift in wind conditions spread radioactive fallout to two inhabited atolls-Rongelap and Utrik. In 1986, the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) entered into the Compact of Free Association, which recognized RMI as a sovereign nation. Section 177 of the Compact established a $150 million Nuclear Claims Trust Fund to compensate the Marshall Islands’ people for medical and property damages caused by the U.S. nuclear testing program. The $150 million to establish the trust fund was provided to RMI on October 30, 1986, soon after the Compact took effect.
A subsidiary agreement to section 177 specified how the trust funds should be administered and disbursed over a 15-year period-October 1986 to October 2001. These distribution requirements include regular allocations to pay claims awards and periodic disbursements to the four atolls most affected by the testing program-Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap, and Utrik.
Disbursements from the Nuclear Claims Trust Fund began in early 1987. Although initial claims awards were delayed, other disbursements were made as required. Through April 1992, $88.4 million had been distributed, with $67 million going to the four atolls most affected by the testing program. Other disbursements totaling $17.2 million were for a health care program, two scientific surveys, and certain administrative expenses. Only $3.2 million of the $16.5 million allocated for medical and property claims had been distributed because of delays in setting up adjudication procedures. These and related matters are discussed in more detail in appendix I.
With modest rates of return, the Nuclear Claims Trust Fund should be adequate to make the payments required by the section 177 agreement. However, the trust fund is not achieving the 12.5-percent investment returns expected when it was agreed on and may be nearly depleted when the 15-year term of required disbursements is completed. If the trust fund is depleted, medical and property claims awards could remain partially unpaid. Nonetheless, separate trust funds for each of the four atolls most affected by the testing program have been established with disbursements from the Nuclear Claims Trust Fund. The atolls’ trust funds wilI continue to grow and could be worth a combined total of over $129 million by the year 2001. See appendix II for more information on the trust funds’ potential value.
The section 177 agreement provided for or directed the continuation of several programs to assist the communities from the four atolls most affected by the nuclear testing program. Food assistance and medical care are being provided to the four atolls, and two scientific surveys have been initiated to help determine the extent of damage and the health risks associated with the lingering effects of radiation. These programs and surveys are discussed in more detail in appendix III.
