“For the good of mankind”: The legacy of nuclear testing in Micronesia

US government research on the health effects of exposure to radiation from nuclear weapons involved gross violations of the human rights of people in the Marshall Islands. In all likelihood, fallout from US nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific was deposited on other Micronesian islands. The US government should release the classified data it possesses on the history of nuclear testing, fallout patterns, and the effects on the people of the Marshall Islands and the rest of Micronesia. Health workers should work to ensure that nuclear-armed states fulfill their treaty obligations to pursue negotiations toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. As a matter of social justice, in order to ensure the human right to health, the federal government should extend Medicaid eligibility to all Micronesian people from the Compact of Free Association nations.