Early in the morning on March 1 1954, the Bravo hydrogen bomb was detonated on the surface of the reef in the northwestern corner of Bikini Atoll. Millions of tons of sand, coral, plant and sea life from three islands, the reef and the surrounding lagoon waters were sent miles into the air by the blast. On Rongelap Atoll (located about 125 miles east of Bikini), white, snow-like ash began to fall from the sky three to four hours after the blast onto the 64 people living there and also onto the 18 people living on Ailinginae Atoll. Children played in the fallout and as night came they began to show the physical signs of radiation exposure. They experienced severe vomiting and diarrhoea, their hair began to fall out, the island fell into a state of panic. Only days later were they moved to Kwajalein Atoll for medical care. Bravo was a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bombs that were dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Aerial photos of Bikini now show the greatest physical scar left over from the nuclear testing period: where there had once been islands and reef there is now a gaping, blue, sea-filled crater a mile wide and 200ft deep. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2002/aug/06/travelnews.nuclearindustry.environment?page=2 Today, the people of Bikini remain scattered throughout the Marshall Islands and the world as they wait for the clean-up of Bikini to begin in earnest, mostly due to the fact that the $200m in trust funds they have received from the US government is not adequate to fund a full and complete radiological clean-up of the entire atoll. http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2002/aug/06/travelnews.nuclearindustry.environment?page=3

I do believe Bikini has gone a long way since then... Im speaking of string, of course... Regards!

In 1996 the people of Bikini opened their atoll to the outside world as a dive, sport fishing and tourism destination, and has since drawn praise from many around the globe. The October 2004 National Geographic Traveler Magazine 20th Anniversary issue declared Bikini as one of their 80 "Around the World Destinations." For more information: http://www.bikiniatoll.com/