Secrets of the Dead (2000–…): Season 11, Episode 4 - The World's Biggest Bomb - full transcript

AS THE COLD WAR HEATED UP,

AMERICAN AND SOVIET
SCIENTISTS RACED

TO BUILD MORE POWERFUL
ATOMIC BOMBS.

KHRUSHCHEV SAID,

"LET'S SHOW THE AMERICANS
WHAT WE CAN DO."

BUT TO TEST NEW WEAPONS,

BOTH SIDES UNLEASHED
EXPLOSIVE POWER

FEW UNDERSTOOD
AND NONE COULD CONTROL.

WE WERE PRETTY IGNORANT,
IN THOSE DAYS.

Man: YOU COULD SEE
THE SHOCKWAVE COMING.

AND I TURNED AROUND
TO MY BUDDY AND I SAID,



"HEY, I THINK WE'RE GONERS."

WORLD'S BIGGEST BOMB,
ON "SECRETS OF THE DEAD."

"SECRETS OF THE DEAD"
WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY

CONTRIBUTIONS
TO YOUR PBS STATION

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

Schreiber:
AS WORLD WAR II ENDED,

WITH THE ATOMIC BOMBING
OF JAPAN,

A SECRET WAR COMMENCED,

USHERING IN ONE OF
THE MOST TERRIFYING PERIODS

IN RECENT HISTORY.

SCIENTISTS IN THE SOVIET UNION
AND AMERICA

SET TO WORK, DESIGNING
EVEN-BIGGER NUCLEAR BOMBS...

A DEADLY CONTEST



THAT CULMINATED
FIFTY YEARS AGO

IN THE BIGGEST MANMADE
EXPLOSION OF ALL TIME.

Man: FIVE, FOUR, THREE...

Schreiber: BUT THE DESIGNERS
WERE OFTEN FLYING BLIND,

PUSHING THE SCIENCE TOO FAR
IN THE EFFORT TO STAY AHEAD.

Man: ONE SCIENTIST PANICKED

AND WAS CRAWLING
UP THE BEACH IN TERROR

AS THIS THING KEPT GOING
UP AND UP.

Schreiber: NOW, THE STORY
OF WHAT REALLY HAPPENED

IN THIS CLANDESTINE WAR.

Man: THE CLOUD

JUST KEPT RISING
AND RISING,

BUT WHAT FRIGHTENED ME WAS
THE HEAT.

Schreiber:
HALF A CENTURY LATER,

THIS SECRET STRUGGLE
IS UNCOVERED...

Schreiber: THE RACE TO BUILD
THE "WORLD'S BIGGEST BOMB."

HOLY MOLEY,
LOOK AT THAT.

IT'S ALL CONSISTENT
ACROSS THE BORDER.

YEAH.

WHAT'S THE INTERVAL?

NOTHING THEREAFTER.

OKAY, WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO
PIN DOWN THE LOCATION.

Schreiber: IN OCTOBER 1961,

THERE WAS A LURCH
ON THE SEISMOGRAPH.

BUT THE SHOCKWAVE HAD COME
FROM A PLACE FAR

FROM ANY EARTHQUAKE ZONE...

FROM RUSSIAN TERRITORY

INSIDE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.

UNLESS THE INSTRUMENTS
WERE LYING,

THERE WAS ONLY ONE
POSSIBLE EXPLANATION.

THE SOVIETS

HAD A BOMB
MANY TIMES BIGGER

THAN ANYTHING
THE U.S. HAD BUILT.

ONE OF AMERICA'S KEY
ATOMIC SCIENTISTS

REMEMBERS WHEN THE NEWS
CAME THROUGH.

Man: WE WERE IMPRESSED.

I WAS IMPRESSED MOST
THAT IT WAS AIR-DROPPED.

YOU KNOW,

THAT MEANT THEY HAD

A DELIVERABLE
50-MEGATON WEAPON.

THAT WAS PRETTY SCARY.

Schreiber: A WEAPON 4,000 TIMES
BIGGER THAN THE HIROSHIMA BOMB.

AGNEW REALIZED,
PERHAPS BETTER THAN ANYONE,

WHAT THAT SIGNIFIED.

AS A BRILLIANT
YOUNG PHYSICIST

WITH THE WARTIME
MANHATTAN PROJECT,

HE WORKED ON THE WORLD'S
FIRST NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

AGNEW FLEW

ON THE HISTORIC MISSION
TO HIROSHIMA IN A B-29,

SHADOWING
THE DELIVERY AIRCRAFT,

THE ENOLA GAY.

HIS TASK WAS
TO MEASURE THE YIELD

FROM THIS FIRST ATOMIC BOMB.

Agnew: WHEN THE BOMB WENT OFF,
WE SAW THE LIGHT,

THEN WE FELT TWO SHOCKWAVES,
WHICH SURPRISED US,

AND THEN WE REALIZED ONE
OF THEM WAS

A REFLECTION
FROM THE GROUND,

AND THEN WE DASHED OVER

TO LOOK
OUT THIS LITTLE PORTHOLE

AND I TOOK THE PICTURES
OF THE HIROSHIMA CLOUD.

Schreiber: HIS FILM IS
A UNIQUE RECORD,

THE ONLY MOVING IMAGES
OF THE HIROSHIMA BOMB.

AGNEW FLEW BACK TO HELP READY
A SECOND BOMB.

HE'S PICTURED HERE,
CARRYING THE BOMB CORE ITSELF.

WHEN DROPPED ON NAGASAKI
SHORTLY AFTER,

IT EFFECTIVELY ENDED
WORLD WAR II.

TOGETHER, THESE BOMBS HAD KILLED
MORE THAN 150,000 PEOPLE.

MANY MORE WOULD PERISH
FROM THEIR INJURIES

AND THE EFFECTS OF RADIATION.

AS THE WAR ENDED,

THE ERA OF THE WEAPON OF
MASS DESTRUCTION HAD BEGUN.

THE COUNTDOWN
TO THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BOMB

BEGAN WHEN SOVIET LEADER
JOSEPH STALIN

DECIDED HE, TOO,
MUST HAVE SUCH A WEAPON.

TWO WEEKS AFTER HIROSHIMA,
HE ORDERED SCIENTISTS HERE,

TO MOSCOW'S
LEBEDEV INSTITUTE,

TO BUILD HIM AN ATOM BOMB.

PHYSICIST BORIS ALTSHULER

WAS PART OF AN ELITE COMMUNITY
OF SOVIET SCIENTISTS.

HIS FATHER HELPED DESIGN
STALIN'S FIRST BOMBS.

Altshuler: MY FATHER
REALLY UNDERSTOOD

THAT THEY MUST HAVE THE BOMB

BECAUSE IT'S NECESSARY
TO SAVE OUR COUNTRY,

TO SAVE PEACE,
AS THEY BELIEVED IT.

I LIVED THERE
AND I CAN TELL YOU

THEY WORKED ABSOLUTELY
NIGHT AND DAY

TO RESTORE THE BALANCE.

Agnew: WE PHYSICISTS
AND CHEMISTS SAID

IT WOULD BE
JUST A MATTER OF TIME.

IN FACT, THE POLITICIANS THOUGHT
IT WOULD TAKE THEM LONGER

THAN WE THOUGHT
IT WOULD TAKE THEM.

Schreiber: AGNEW WAS NOW
A KEY MEMBER

OF THE TEAM CREATED
TO KEEP THE UNITED STATES

AHEAD OF THE SOVIET UNION

AND A SERIES OF VAST EXPERIMENTS
WOULD BE CONDUCTED HERE,

ON BIKINI ATOLL.

ONE OF THE MOST REMOTE AND,
FOR MANY YEARS,

MOST SECRET,
PLACES ON EARTH.

THIS CORAL ATOLL
IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS

LIES 2,700 MILES
SOUTHWEST OF HAWAII.

IN 1946,
THE U.S. DECIDED

THIS IS WHERE IT WOULD TEST
THE NEXT GENERATION OF WEAPONS.

HISTORIAN RICHARD RHODES
WON A PULITZER PRIZE

FOR HIS BOOK
ON THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMBS.

HE SAYS THE A-BOMB
SPELLED EXCITEMENT,

AND EVEN SEX APPEAL.

Rhodes: THE BIKINI WAS INVENTED
BY A FRENCH DESIGNER IN 1946.

THEY DECIDED TO NAME IT AFTER
THE SEXIEST PLACE, AT THAT TIME,

ON THE PLANET, WHICH WAS WHERE
THE UNITED STATES

WAS CONDUCTING
NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTS.

THE BOMB, AT THAT TIME,

HAD A KIND OF CHARISMA THAT,

OF COURSE, IT SOON LOST.

Schreiber: THE BOMBS
WERE BIG NEWS

AND THE PEOPLE OF BIKINI

SEEMED HAPPY TO BE
CENTER STAGE.

Narrator: THESE FIRST PICTURES
OF THE LITTLE ISLAND

SHOW THE 165 MEN, WOMEN,
AND CHILDREN

AS THEY PREPARE FOR THE MOVE
TO ANOTHER SMALL ISLAND,

A SAFE DISTANCE AWAY.

Schreiber: THEIR NOW-DESERT
ISLAND WOULD WITNESS ONE

OF THE MOST REMARKABLE
EXPERIMENTS EVER CONDUCTED.

MILLIONS OF DOLLARS' WORTH
OF WEAPONS

AND A FLEET OF 95 WARSHIPS
WERE ASSEMBLED IN THE LAGOON.

THESE JUNKED JAPANESE,
GERMAN, AND AMERICAN SHIPS

WERE HERE TO TEST THE POWER
OF THE BOMB.

Narrator:
DIFFERENT ANIMALS

HAVE BEEN PLACED
ABOARD THE SHIPS.

SOME WERE SHAVED,
IN ORDER THAT THE EFFECTS

OF HEAT AND RADIATION
ON THEIR SKINS

COULD BE OBSERVED.

Man: FIVE, FOUR, THREE,
TWO, ONE, FIRE.

Schreiber: THE DESTRUCTION
OF THESE WARSHIPS AND WEAPONS

SENT OUT A CLEAR SIGNAL...

THE RULES OF WAR
HAD BEEN REWRITTEN.

THE ATOM BOMB TRUMPED
YESTERDAY'S WEAPONRY

AND ONLY AMERICA KNEW THE SECRET
OF HOW TO BUILD ONE.

Schreiber:
OR SO THEY BELIEVED.

Rhodes: YEARS BEFORE OUR EXPERTS
BELIEVED IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE,

THE SOVIETS,
IN AUGUST 1949,

TESTED THEIR FIRST
ATOMIC BOMB

AND THERE WAS PANIC
IN WASHINGTON, AS A RESULT.

Schreiber:
THE SOVIET WEAPON WAS

AN ALMOST EXACT COPY
OF THE NAGASAKI BOMB,

SO EXACT, IT WAS ASSUMED
THERE WERE SPIES

INSIDE AMERICA'S
SUPER SECRET BASE

AT LOS ALAMOS, NEW MEXICO.

Altshuler: THERE WERE AMERICAN
IDEALISTIC PHYSICISTS

WHO GAVE AMERICAN SECRETS
TO SOVIET INTELLIGENCE.

THEY HAD THE IDEA
THAT THERE MUST BE BALANCE,

THAT IT'S VERY DANGEROUS
IF ONLY

CAPITALIST, IMPERIALIST
AUTHORITIES

IN THE UNITED STATES
WILL HAVE THESE WEAPONS.

Schreiber: KLAUS FUCHS,
A GERMAN-BORN PHYSICIST;

AND DAVID GREENGLASS,
AN AMERICAN ARMY MACHINIST;

BOTH PLAYED PARTS
IN THE LOS ALAMOS SPY RING.

FOUR DAYS AFTER
THEY WERE ARRESTED IN 1950,

THE U.S. ANNOUNCED PLANS
FOR A NEW,

EVEN MORE POWERFUL WEAPON.

THERE WAS A GREAT RUSH
IN WASHINGTON TO FIND SOMETHING

THAT COULD REASSERT
THE BALANCE

AND, FOR SOME OF THE PEOPLE
IN WASHINGTON...

IN FACT,
THOSE WHO PREVAILED...

THE HYDROGEN BOMB
WAS THAT THING.

Schreiber: THE BOMBS TESTED
SO FAR AT BIKINI

WERE ALL VARIATIONS
ON THE ORIGINAL

WORLD WAR II BOMB DESIGN.

CALLED TRINITY,

THEY DERIVED THEIR POWER
FROM A FISSION REACTION.

"FISSION" HAPPENS WHEN
AN ATOM IS SPLIT

UNDER SUCH MASSIVE PRESSURE,
IT CREATES

A RELEASE OF ENERGY...
IN THIS CASE, 20 KILOTONS,

EQUAL TO 20,000 TONS OF TNT.

BUT THE HYDROGEN BOMB
WAS A FUSION WEAPON

AND WOULD SOON MAKE THOSE
EARLY DEVICES LOOK PRIMITIVE.

THERE WOULD BE
TWO KEY COMPONENTS...

A BASIC ATOM BOMB;

PLUS A TANK
OF HYDROGEN ISOTOPES,

SUCH AS TRITIUM
AND DEUTERIUM.

THE PRIMARY EXPLOSION WOULD
FORCE TOGETHER, OR "FUSE,"

THE BOMB FUEL,
PRODUCING IMMENSE HEAT,

A THERMONUCLEAR REACTION,

RELEASING ENERGY MEASURED
IN MEGATONS...

MILLIONS OF TONS OF TNT.

THE OTHER IMPORTANT THING
ABOUT A HYDROGEN REACTION IS

THAT IT'S KIND OF LIKE
A FIRE...

THE MORE FUEL YOU ADD,
THE BIGGER THE FIRE.

IT HAS AN UNLIMITED
POTENTIAL SIZE,

WHEREAS, THE BIGGEST
FISSION WEAPON WE EVER BUILT

WAS HALF A MEGATON, 500,000
TONS, OF TNT-EQUIVALENT.

IT REALLY COULDN'T GET
ANY BIGGER THAN THAT.

WE ALL AGREED... AT LEAST,
THE TECHNICAL PEOPLE...

THAT IT WOULD JUST BE
A MATTER OF A FEW YEARS

BEFORE THE RUSSIANS WOULD HAVE
THE SAME CAPABILITY.

THE FACT THAT THE SOVIET UNION
HAD, SO QUICKLY,

WITH THE HELP OF ESPIONAGE,

DEVELOPED THEIR FIRST
ATOMIC BOMBS,

MADE IT CERTAIN,

FROM THE POINT OF VIEW

OF THE UNITED STATES
JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF,

THAT, YES, WE MUST HAVE
THIS WEAPON.

Schreiber:
BUT WOULD IT WORK?

IT WAS DOWN TO HAROLD AGNEW,
NOW IN HIS EARLY 30s,

AND HIS LOS ALAMOS COLLEAGUES

TO BUILD THE WORLD'S FIRST
THERMONUCLEAR DEVICE,

CODENAMED MIKE.

Agnew: I WAS A PROJECT ENGINEER
WITH A SMALL GROUP.

WE ACTUALLY PUT TRITIUM
IN MIKE.

WE WERE IN CHARGE
OF DOING THAT

AND WE GOT THE THING
FABRICATED,

GOT IT SHIPPED OUT.

IT WAS AN ATOMIC BOMB
AND A LONG CYLINDRICAL TANK

OF LIQUID HYDROGEN

SURROUNDED BY A CYLINDER
THAT WOULD FUNNEL

THE HUGE BURST OF RADIATION
THAT COMES OFF AN ATOMIC BOMB

AND TURN THE MATERIAL
AROUND THE HYDROGEN CYLINDER

INTO AN INTENSE PLASMA OF VERY,
VERY HOT GAS WHICH WOULD THEN

SET OFF THE HYDROGEN
THAT WAS IN THE TANK.

THAT WAS THE MIKE DEVICE.

MINUS 15 SECONDS.

Agnew: I WAS
ON THE CURTISS,

WHICH WAS
A SEAPLANE TENDER,

30 MILES AWAY,

WAITING FOR MIKE
TO BE DETONATED.

Man: PUT ON GOGGLES
OR TURN AWAY.

Man: EIGHT, SEVEN,

SIX, FIVER, FOUR,

THREE, TWO, ONE,

T-ZERO.

Agnew: WHAT FRIGHTENED ME
WAS THE HEAT.

WE WERE JUST
IN A PAIR OF SHORTS.

IT JUST GOT HOTTER
AND HOTTER AND HOTTER.

THIS CLOUD WAS 30 MILES AWAY,

BUT IT FELT AS IF

IT WAS ON TOP OF US.

Schreiber: HERE WAS A TRULY
HISTORIC SCIENTIFIC MILESTONE...

THE WORLD'S FIRST MANMADE
THERMONUCLEAR REACTION.

BUT, WEIGHING IN AT 82 TONS,
WHAT USE WAS IT?

Altshuler:
PROPAGANDA WROTE

THE FIRST HYDROGEN BOMB
WAS TESTED

BY THE UNITED STATES IN 1952,
IT'S CALLED MIKE.

IT WAS NOT A BOMB,

IT WAS CONSTRUCTED
LIKE A BIG, 3-STORY HOUSE.

IT WAS A BOMB THAT YOU WOULD
HAVE TO,

AS ROBERT OPPENHEIMER SAID,

DELIVER "BY OXCART"
OR BY SHIP.

WELL, THAT WASN'T
VERY USEFUL.

YOU WANTED ONE
YOU COULD DELIVER BY AIR.

Schreiber: WHICH SIDE BUILT
THE FIRST TRUE HYDROGEN BOMB,

A PORTABLE DEVICE,

IS STILL ARGUED TODAY.

FOR A FRIGHTENED PUBLIC
IN THE 1950s,

DEFINITIONS
HARDLY MATTERED.

Narrator: THE THREAT
OF HYDROGEN-BOMB WARFARE IS

THE GREATEST DANGER...

Schreiber: IN 1953,
THE SOVIETS DEVELOPED

A HYDROGEN BOMB SMALL ENOUGH
TO CARRY IN AN AIRPLANE.

COULD THE U.S. DO THE SAME?

SIX MONTHS LATER,
LOS ALAMOS PRODUCED

THEIR ANSWER
TO THE SOVIET BOMB.

THEIR FIRST HAD SOLID FUEL,

MADE FROM THE LIGHTEST METAL
THAT THERE IS...

LITHIUM.

THERE ARE VARIOUS VERSIONS
OF LITHIUM...

"ISOTOPES,"
THEY'RE CALLED.

AND THE ONE THAT WAS NEEDED
FOR THIS WEAPON WAS

LITHIUM-6.

IT HAS 3 PROTONS, 3 NEUTRONS...
LITHIUM-6.

Schreiber: THE FUEL MIXTURE
KNOWN AS LITHIUM DEUTERIDE

WAS PACKED INSIDE
THIS ALUMINUM CYLINDER.

BIKINI WAS ABOUT TO WITNESS
THE MOST POWERFUL EXPLOSION

EVER STAGED
BY THE UNITED STATES,

CODENAME CASTLE BRAVO,

BUT THIS TIME, THINGS WOULD GET
DRAMATICALLY OUT OF CONTROL.

Rhodes:
THEY'D TESTED THE BOMB

WITH LIQUID HYDROGEN,

BUT THEY'D NEVER TESTED ONE
WITH LITHIUM DEUTERIDE,

AND THE MEASUREMENTS HAD BEEN
MADE WRONG, AS IT TURNED OUT.

Schreiber:
ALMOST 60 YEARS AGO,

JOHN R. HALDERMAN WAS
A YOUNG MARINE CORPORAL.

SHIPPED OUT TO THE PACIFIC

FOR THIS TOP-SECRET MISSION,
HE STOOD GUARD

OVER AMERICA'S SUPER BOMB.

Halderman: IT LOOKED LIKE
A BIG PROPANE TANK,

ABOUT 5 FEET IN DIAMETER
AND 20 FEET LONG.

I WROTE MY NAME ON IT,
BEING SMART, SIGNED IT.

BUT WE HAD TO STAY WITH THAT

UNTIL IT WAS ALL SET UP
TO GO OFF.

AND YOU WEREN'T ALLOWED
ON THERE

IF YOUR NAME WASN'T
ON THE ACCESS LIST.

YOU HAD ORDERS TO SHOOT
TO KILL.

Schreiber: BIKINI ATOLL IS
A RING OF SMALL ISLANDS.

HALDERMAN STOOD GUARD
IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER,

WHERE BRAVO
WOULD ACTUALLY DETONATE.

BUT IT WOULD BE TRIGGERED

FROM THE ISLAND OF ENYU,
20 MILES AWAY.

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

IS DOCUMENTED IN THIS
ONCE-CLASSIFIED FILM.

Man: STARTING
AT H MINUS 48 HOURS,

ALL PERSONNEL AT BIKINI ATOLL
WERE EVACUATED.

THE ONLY MEN TO REMAIN WERE

THE MEMBERS
OF THE FIRING PARTY,

PROTECTED IN THEIR BUNKER
ON ENYU ISLAND.

Schreiber:
THE BUNKER IS LOCATED

JUST BESIDE THE ISLAND'S
LANDING STRIP.

IT MEANT THAT,
IF THINGS WENT WRONG,

THEY WOULD CALL IN A HELICOPTER
FOR RESCUE.

BUT THE MEN INSIDE HERE

FELT SAFE,

PROTECTED NOT JUST
BY REINFORCED CONCRETE,

BUT MASSIVE BLAST DOORS.

Man: PUT CURRENT ON 1.

OKAY, MY SYSTEM
IS SET.

I'LL CHECK 3
WHEN YOU'RE READY. 3.

3.

Schreiber:
THEIR JOB WAS TO ENSURE

THAT ALL MONITORING DEVICES
WERE RUNNING

AND, FINALLY,

PRIMING THE FIRING
CIRCUIT ITSELF.

IF THE SCIENTISTS'
CALCULATIONS WERE CORRECT,

THE LITHIUM DEUTERIDE MIXTURE

WOULD ERUPT WITH THE FORCE OF
5 MILLION TONS OF TNT.

ALL GOOD ON 5.

Schreiber: IF IT WENT
MUCH HIGHER

OR THE FORCE WERE
ANY GREATER,

THE 20-MILE MARGIN OF SAFETY
MIGHT NOT BE ENOUGH.

THEIR BUNKER
WAS EVEN MADE WATERTIGHT,

IN CASE BRAVO
UNLEASHED A TIDAL WAVE.

AS ZERO HOUR APPROACHED,

MARINE JOHN HALDERMAN WAS
ABOARD THE USS CURTISS,

THE SHIP CARRYING

TOP BRASS AND SCIENTISTS,

AS IT HAD FOR OPERATION MIKE
TWO YEARS BEFORE.

Halderman: WE WERE
23 MILES FROM GROUND ZERO

AND THEY'RE STARTING
THE COUNTDOWN

AND THEY GOT DOWN
TO 10 SECONDS

AND THEN YOU GET
KIND OF GOOSE PIMPLES

AND YOUR HAIR STANDS UP
ON THE BACK OF YOU.

WE HAD DARK GOGGLES ON,
BUT WHEN IT WENT OFF,

YOU COULD SEE THE BONES IN YOUR
ARM, LIKE LOOKING AT AN X-RAY.

WHEN WE DID TURN AROUND
AND TAKE OUR GOGGLES OFF,

WE ALL THOUGHT IT'D BE
OFF IN THE DISTANCE.

IT WAS RIGHT ON TOP OF US.

AND YOU COULD SEE
THE SHOCKWAVE COMING,

LIKE A MINIATURE TIDAL WAVE
OR A TSUNAMI.

YOU'RE GRABBING HOLD
OF LIFELINES

AND HANGING ON TO GUN MOUNTS

AND GUYS ARE SLIDING
ACROSS THE DECK

AND YOU'RE GRABBING THEM.

AND THEN IT TILTED BACK
THE OTHER WAY

AND I TURNED AROUND
TO MY BUDDY AND I SAID,

"HEY, I THINK WE'RE GONERS."

AND HE SAID, "YEAH,
I THINK YOU'RE RIGHT."

IT WAS A TERRIFYING MOMENT.

THE EXPLOSION REACHED OUT
SO CLOSE TO THE BLOCKHOUSES

THAT THEY BARELY
GOT OUT ALIVE.

Schreiber: THE LEADER
OF THE FIRING PARTY,

DR. JOHN C. CLARK,
LATER GAVE

A MOMENT-BY-MOMENT ACCOUNT
OF WHAT HAPPENED.

AT ZERO PLUS 20 SECONDS,

A SHOCK,
LIKE A GIANT EARTHQUAKE.

AT ZERO PLUS 90 SECONDS,

THE AIR BLAST,

SO POWERFUL

THAT THE CONCRETE WALLS
CREAKED.

BUT IT WAS
THEIR GEIGER COUNTERS,

MEASURING RADIATION,

THAT CAUSED THE MOST FEAR.

BRAVO HAD CREATED

A VAST PLUME
OF RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT,

FAR BIGGER THAN EXPECTED

AND HEADING IN A DIRECTION
NO ONE HAD PREDICTED.

FALLOUT, IN A NUCLEAR WEAPON,
IS MORE A PRODUCT

OF THE MATERIAL THAT'S
CHURNED UP BY THE EXPLOSION

THAN IT IS
OF THE EXPLOSION ITSELF.

THE EXPLOSION IS SO HOT
THAT IT JUST BASICALLY

TURNS EVERYTHING IN THE BOMB
INTO A GAS.

A BOMB THAT'S EXPLODED
ON THE GROUND

STIRS UP THE EARTH

AND IRRADIATES THE ELEMENTS
IN THOSE MATERIALS

AND THEN THAT MATERIAL
IS INTENSELY RADIOACTIVE

AND ITS RADIOACTIVITY IS WHAT,
TYPICALLY, WE CALL "FALLOUT."

Schreiber:
INSIDE THE BUNKER,

RADIATION LEVELS
CONTINUED TO RISE.

CLARK REASSURED HIS TEAM
THAT A HELICOPTER

WOULD SOON BE ON THE WAY,
BUT THEY WOULD STILL NEED

TO REACH THE LANDING PAD.

THE HELICOPTER BLADES

WOULD KICK UP FALLOUT
WHICH HAD ALREADY SETTLED,

MAKING IT
EVEN MORE DANGEROUS,

SINCE NO ONE IN THE BUNKER

HAD BEEN ISSUED
PROTECTIVE CLOTHING.

Clark: GET THE BEDSHEETS.

GET THAT ONE AND THAT ONE.

I'LL GET THIS ONE AND YOU TAKE
THE ONE ON THE BOTTOM.

Schreiber: AND SO CLARK DEVISED
A PRIMITIVE SOLUTION.

Clark: EYELIDS.

Schreiber: THESE MEN,

WHO'D JUST SET OFF THE MOST
POTENT WEAPON IN HISTORY,

WOULD SHIELD THEMSELVES
WITH BEDSHEETS.

ARE YOU READY?
I THINK I'M GOOD.

ALL RIGHT. LET'S GO.
LET'S GET TO THE HELICOPTER.

Schreiber: AS THEY HURRIED
TOWARD THE WAITING CHOPPER.

THE USS CURTISS,
23 MILES FROM GROUND ZERO,

WAS NOW ALSO IN HARM'S WAY.

Halderman: WE WERE THE CLOSEST
SHIP TO THE BLAST.

THAT RADIOACTIVE DUST,

IT'S LIKE SNOW.

THEY JUST ORDERED US
BELOW-DECK

AND WE WENT BELOW-DECK
AND BUTTONED UP.

THEY CAME AROUND
WITH GEIGER COUNTERS

AND THE GEIGER COUNTER
WOULD SING

WHEN THEY'D BRING IT
AROUND YOUR BODY.

I MUST'VE BEEN DOWN THERE
10 DAYS.

IT STUNK DOWN THERE.
IT GOT REALLY RIPE.

AND IF ANYBODY WENT OUT
OF THE HATCHES,

YOU HAD ORDERS
TO SHOOT THEM.

Schreiber:
SO WHAT HAD GONE WRONG?

ALTHOUGH THE PRINCIPLE
OF THE HYDROGEN BOMB

HAD BEEN PROVED
WITH OPERATION MIKE,

EACH NEW WEAPON WAS PUSHING
SCIENCE TO ITS LIMITS.

DR. MARTIN KALINOWSKI,

A NUCLEAR PHYSICIST
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HAMBURG,

WAS ASKED TO EXAMINE

THE DECLASSIFIED DATA
FROM CASTLE BRAVO.

Kalinowski: AT THAT TIME,

MUCH OF THE NUCLEAR TESTING
WAS TRIAL-AND-ERROR.

THE TEST WAS THEIR EXPERIMENT
TO FIND OUT NEW INFORMATION

AND ONE PARTICULAR INFORMATION

THAT IS VERY IMPORTANT

FOR NUCLEAR PHYSICISTS
OR BOMB PHYSICISTS

ARE THE SO-CALLED
CROSS-SECTIONS...

THE CAPABILITIES OF NUCLEAR
MATERIAL TO REACT.

LITHIUM CONSISTS OF
TWO DIFFERENT KINDS OF NUCLEI...

LITHIUM-6 AND WHAT IS CALLED
LITHIUM-7.

"7" INDICATES THAT THERE IS ONE
MORE NEUTRON IN THE NUCLEUS.

PHYSICISTS, AT THAT TIME,

THOUGHT THAT LITHIUM-7
IS KIND OF INERT,

IT DOESN'T CONTRIBUTE,
IN ANY WAY,

TO THE NUCLEAR EXPLOSION.

YOU HAVE TO REALIZE, YOU KNOW,
WE WERE PRETTY IGNORANT,

IN THOSE DAYS,
ABOUT CROSS-SECTIONS

AND THIS WASN'T
THOUGHT OF AT ALL.

WE WERE IGNORANT
OF THE FACT,

BUT WE SHOULD NOT
HAVE BEEN IGNORANT.

Kalinowski: I LOOKED
AT THE CROSS-SECTIONS

FOR LITHIUM-6
AND LITHIUM-7

AND THE COMPARISON REVEALS

LITHIUM-7 DOES HAVE

A HIGH CROSS-SECTION.

THAT MEANS
A HIGH PROBABILITY

OF UNDERGOING
A NUCLEAR REACTION.

Rhodes: THIS PARTICULAR FUEL,
IN THIS BOMB,

WAS 30% LITHIUM-6,
70% LITHIUM-7.

WHAT THE SCIENTISTS
WERE NOT AWARE OF WAS

THAT LITHIUM-7 WOULD BE STRIPPED
OF ONE OF ITS NEUTRONS EARLY

IN THIS REACTION,
AS IT BLEW,

AND TURN INTO LITHIUM-6,

AT WHICH POINT,
IT WOULD BECOME BOMB FUEL.

THE WEAPON WAS DESIGNED
TO HAVE A YIELD

OF 5 MEGATONS,

BUT, BECAUSE OF

THIS UNKNOWN REACTION

IN LITHIUM-7,

IT HAD A YIELD OF 15 MILLION
TONS OF TNT-EQUIVALENT.

Schreiber: THE POWER
UNLEASHED BY BRAVO

IS STILL EVIDENT TODAY.

WHERE IT SAT ON THE CORAL SAND
IS NOW A WATER-FILLED CRATER,

1 MILE WIDE
AND 200 FEET DEEP.

ALONG WITH THE VAST CRATER,

THIS FISHING BOAT,
NAMED LUCKY DRAGON,

PRESERVED IN A TOKYO MUSEUM,

PROVIDES THE MOST VIVID MEMORIAL
TO THE BRAVO BOMB.

AS DAWN ROSE, THE SHIP,
WITH A CREW OF 23,

WAS SAILING 82 MILES EAST
OF BIKINI.

Interpreter:
THIS WHITE POWDER, LIKE SNOW,

BEGAN TO FALL FROM THE SKY.

IT WAS LIKE A BLIZZARD

OF FINE SNOWFLAKES.

BUT I THOUGHT,
"THIS IS THE PACIFIC.

HOW CAN IT BE SNOWING?"

IT FELL ON MY HEAD AND FACE
AND I LICKED SOME.

Interpreter: IT DIDN'T MELT,
LIKE SNOW WOULD'VE DONE.

IT WAS LIKE EATING SAND.

Schreiber: WITHIN DAYS,

THE CREW WERE SUFFERING
FROM ACUTE RADIATION SICKNESS.

THEY HURRIED BACK TO PORT
IN JAPAN,

BUT, DESPITE DOCTORS' EFFORTS,
THE RADIO OPERATOR DIED.

OTHERS ONLY SLOWLY RECOVERED.

THERE WAS A HUGE OUTCRY
IN JAPAN.

I MEAN, THIS WAS
THE ONE COUNTRY

THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN
ATOMIC-BOMBED,

THE ONLY COUNTRY
IN THE WORLD.

FOR NOW, SOME OF
ITS ORDINARY FISHERMEN

TO COME HOME SICK
WITH RADIATION POISONING

PRODUCED A NATIONAL OUTCRY.

Schreiber: THE REMOTENESS
OF BIKINI ATOLL

SHOULD'VE PREVENTED
SUCH CONTAMINATION.

DR. KALINOWSKI
USES CONTEMPORARY RECORDS

TO PROVIDE AN EXPLANATION.

Kalinowski: I LOOKED
AT THE WEATHER DATA

AND I THINK THAT IS ONE
OF THE MAIN REASONS WHY

THE FALLOUT WAS HIGHER

THAN EXPECTED.

WE'RE LOOKING, HERE,

AT THE METEOROLOGICAL SITUATION
OF THE CASTLE BRAVO TEST.

GROUND ZERO IS MARKED HERE
WITH THIS BLACK STAR,

THE LINES INDICATING
SO-CALLED "TRAJECTORIES,"

SO THESE ARE THE PATHS
THAT PARTICLES WOULD FOLLOW

WITHIN 24 HOURS
AFTER THE EXPLOSION.

THE RED LINE INDICATES

A PARTICLE
OF 10 KILOMETERS' HEIGHT,

WHEREAS, THE GREEN LINE IS

FOR A PARTICLE ALMOST
AT GROUND LEVEL.

THE STRIKING FACT IS
THAT THE GREEN LINE GOES

INTO EXACTLY THE OPPOSITE
DIRECTION OF THE RED LINE.

THE WINDS ARE BLOWING

INTO DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS.

AT HIGH ALTITUDES, THE WINDS
ARE BLOWING TOWARDS THE EAST

AND, AT LOW ALTITUDES,
TOWARDS THE WEST.

Schreiber: THE BRAVO COMMANDER
EXPECTED FALLOUT

TO BLOW TOWARD EMPTY OCEAN.

INSTEAD, MOST OF THE RADIATION
WAS CARRIED EASTWARD

TO DESCEND
ON THE USS CURTISS,

AS WELL AS THE LUCKY DRAGON
AND NEARBY ISLANDS.

Kalinowski: THE MAJOR FRACTION
OF RADIOACTIVITY

TRANSPORTED IN HIGH ALTITUDES
BECAUSE THE MUSHROOM CLOUD

LIFTS THE RADIOACTIVITY.

I AM NOT SURE WHETHER
THEY MISSED

THE INFORMATION
ABOUT THE WIND FIELDS,

BUT THEIR IMPACT
ON THE FALLOUT

WAS PROBABLY UNDERESTIMATED.

Schreiber: ON THE ISLANDS
TO THE EAST OF BIKINI,

THE 260 PEOPLE IN HARM'S WAY
WERE EVACUATED

BY THE U.S. MILITARY.

MANY SOON SHOWED CLEAR SYMPTOMS
OF RADIATION EXPOSURE.

Agnew: USUALLY, BEFORE SHOTS,
THEY WERE VERY METICULOUS

IN PREDICTING WHAT THE WIND
WAS GOING TO DO, BUT, OF COURSE,

WINDS CAN CHANGE
VERY QUICKLY.

IT'S JUST UNFORTUNATE.

Rhodes: THERE BEGAN,
IN THIS INCIDENT,

A CHANGE IN THE VIEW

THAT THE WORLD HAD
OF THESE TESTS

AND, TO SOME DEGREE,
ALSO OF THESE BOMBS.

Schreiber: NO U.S. BOMB

WOULD EVER BE
THAT BIG AGAIN.

BRAVO REMAINS
THE MOST POWERFUL THING

EVER MADE IN AMERICA.

Rhodes: BY THE MID-1950s,
THE UNITED STATES

HAD DEVELOPED ALL
THE FUNDAMENTAL TECHNOLOGIES

IT NEEDED FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS
OF ANY YIELD...

SMALL, LARGE, IN BETWEEN.

WE EVEN HAD WEAPONS THAT
WERE CALLED "DIAL-A-YIELD"...

WHERE YOU COULD SET THE YIELD

ANYWHERE FROM A FEW KILOTONS
UP TO A MEGATON OR MORE.

THE PROBLEM BECAME,
AT THAT POINT,

THE RIGHT DELIVERY SYSTEM.

Schreiber: BOTH SIDES
NOW RACED

TO DEVELOP
LONG-RANGE MISSILES.

THE NEW SOVIET LEADER,

NIKITA KHRUSHCHEV,
LIKED TO SHOW OFF

HIS NATION'S
MISSILE STRENGTH.

BUT, UNLIKE AMERICA,

SOVIET SCIENTISTS WERE ALSO
ORDERED TO CONTINUE RESEARCH

ON BOMBS OF
EVER-INCREASING POWER.

AN EXPERT ON THIS PERIOD,

PROFESSOR ALEXEI KOJEVNIKOV HAS
BEGUN PIECING TOGETHER DETAILS

FROM ONCE-SECRET
FILES IN MOSCOW.

Kojevnikov: IN TERMS
OF ACTUAL DOCUMENTS,

WE DON'T HAVE, YET, ACCESS
TO THE INSIDE DOCUMENTS,

BUT THIS IS HOW I JUDGE
THE SITUATION...

KHRUSHCHEV WAS TRYING

TO STRIKE A POSTURE
AS THOUGH THE SOVIET UNION WAS

STRONGER
THAN IT ACTUALLY WAS,

A TYPICAL POSTURE

OF THE UNDERDOG.

Narrator:
1961 WAS A YEAR

OF INTERNATIONAL TENSIONS

COMPOUNDED BY CRISIS
AFTER CRISIS.

Kojevnikov: FOR ALL OF 1961,
WE SEE A HUGE DETERIORATION

OF THE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE TWO SUPERPOWERS.

Narrator: IN JANUARY,
JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY

WAS SWORN IN
AS THE 35th PRESIDENT

OF THE UNITED STATES
AND BEGAN THE MOMENTOUS TASK

OF GUIDING THE NATION THROUGH
THE CRITICAL YEARS AHEAD.

Schreiber:
THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BOMB

WOULD BE ONE
OF THE FIRST TESTS

FOR THE NEW
PRESIDENT KENNEDY.

IN GERMANY,

THE SUPERPOWERS ARGUED

OVER WHO
SHOULD CONTROL BERLIN.

KHRUSHCHEV DECIDED
TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

AND BUILT THE BERLIN WALL,

WHICH CAME REMARKABLY CLOSE
TO STARTING A WAR.

CLOSER THAN, I THINK,
MANY PEOPLE REALIZE.

Schreiber: THE WALL
WOULD TRAP EAST GERMANS

DESPERATE TO FLEE
FROM COMMUNIST RULE.

Rhodes: IT WAS
A FRIGHTENING TIME.

I WAS IN THE AIR FORCE
RESERVE, AT THAT TIME,

AND WAS RECALLED
TO ACTIVE DUTY.

IN JULY '61,
KENNEDY DECIDED TO PUT HALF

OF THE BOMBERS IN EUROPE
ON WAR ALERT.

IT WAS THAT DECISION THAT
SCARED KHRUSHCHEV THE MOST.

Rhodes: KHRUSHCHEV CALLED IN
HIS SCIENTISTS AND SAID,

"LET'S SHOW THE AMERICANS

WHAT WE CAN DO."

Schreiber: WHAT KHRUSHCHEV
WANTED WAS A BOMB,

BIGGER THAN ANY IN HISTORY.

IT WAS
A DELIBERATE THREAT.

HE SAID, "LET'S BUILD
A REALLY BIG ONE

AND SHOW THEM
WHAT WE CAN DO."

Schreiber: THE SCIENTIST
KHRUSHCHEV SUMMONED WAS

ANDREI SAKHAROV,

THE BRAINS BEHIND
THE SOVIET BOMB PROGRAM

FOR MUCH OF THE 1950s.

BORIS ALTSHULER STUDIED
UNDER SAKHAROV

AND WAS A CLOSE FRIEND
FOR 20 YEARS.

Altshuler: HE DIDN'T CONSIDER IT
AS SOME TOOL TO KILL ANYBODY.

IT JUST WAS A TOOL TO DEFEND US,
OUR COUNTRY, FROM BEING KILLED.

Schreiber: SAKHAROV
HAD THREE MONTHS

TO PRODUCE THE BIGGEST
EXPLOSIVE DEVICE OF ALL TIME,

DUBBED THE TSAR BOMB,

OR "KING OF BOMBS."

AMERICA'S BRAVO
HAD BEEN 15 MEGATONS,

BUT SAKHAROV
PLANNED SOMETHING

MORE THAN 6 TIMES LARGER
THAN BRAVO.

THIS WOULD BE
A 3-STAGE BOMB,

RATHER THAN THE TWO STAGES
OF CASTLE BRAVO.

AN ATOM BOMB WOULD BE
THE FISSION DETONATOR,

COMPRESSING THE BOMB FUEL

IN FIRST
ONE THERMONUCLEAR REACTION,

AND THEN ANOTHER.

Rhodes: THE SCIENTISTS

ONCE THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING A BOMB
THAT WOULD BE 1,000 MEGATONS.

AND THAT WOULD BE A, PERHAPS,
4- OR 5-STAGE WEAPON,

TO GET THAT MUCH YIELD.

IT WOULDN'T BE USEFUL BECAUSE,
ONCE YOU GET

ABOVE 100 MEGATONS,
THE FIREBALL IS THE THICKNESS

OF THE ATMOSPHERE
OF THE EARTH, 10 MILES,

AND ANY FURTHER BLAST IS JUST
GOING TO GO OUT INTO SPACE.

IT'S NOT GOING TO DO
ANY GOOD.

Schreiber: SAKHAROV
WAS WORKING UNDER ORDERS

AND AGAINST THE CLOCK.

BUT, AS THE BOMB
NEARED COMPLETION,

HE MADE ONE VITAL CHANGE.

SAKHAROV DESIGNED
A 100-MEGATON BOMB,

BUT, IN THE LAST MOMENT,
WAS CONCERNED

ABOUT SUCH POWER
THAT SOMEBODY WAS POLLUTED.

Schreiber: FRIGHTENED
BY THE POTENTIAL

FOR MASSIVE FALLOUT,
SAKHAROV REDUCED ITS POWER

TO 50 MEGATONS.

THOUGH PREVIOUS BOMBS
HAD BEEN TESTED

IN KAZAKHSTAN
AND CENTRAL ASIA,

THE TSAR BOMB WOULD DETONATE

OVER THE REMOTE ARCTIC ISLAND
OF NOVAYA ZEMLYA.

MAINLY WILDERNESS,
THE SNOWBOUND TERRITORY

WAS FURTHER AWAY
FROM CENTERS OF POPULATION

THAT MIGHT BE AFFECTED
BY THE BOMB'S FALLOUT.

AS DAWN BROKE,

THE CREW ASSIGNED

TO CARRY OUT
THIS HISTORIC MISSION

WERE GIVEN
THEIR FINAL BRIEFING.

MISSION CONTROL WAS A MILITARY
AIR BASE IN NORTHERN RUSSIA,

600 MILES
FROM THE DROP ZONE.

THE MEN HAD BEEN HANDPICKED
AND THEIR AIRCRAFT

HAD TO BE SPECIALLY ADAPTED.

Schreiber: THE TSAR BOMB,

WEIGHING 27 TONS, HAD BEEN
FITTED WITH A PARACHUTE

AND WOULD BE DROPPED FROM
AN ALTITUDE OF 40,000 FEET.

THE BOMB WOULD FALL
FOR 25,000 FEET

BEFORE DETONATING...

ENOUGH TIME, IT WAS HOPED,
FOR THE AIR CREW TO ESCAPE

THE DEVASTATING EXPLOSION.

THERE WERE REAL CONCERNS.

SAKHAROV SAID,
"NOW, THEY DO SOMETHING

WHICH WAS NEVER EARLIER HAPPENED

ON THE HISTORY
AND ON THE EARTH."

TO FORESEE
EXACTLY WHAT WILL HAPPEN?

Altshuler: WHEN THE SHOCKWAVE
CAME TO THE AIRPLANE,

THE AIRPLANE FELL DOWN
ABOUT A KILOMETER,

BUT IT WAS VERY HIGH,
SO THEY DIDN'T PERISH,

BUT IT WAS ALMOST BROKEN.

Schreiber:
THE MOST POWERFUL

MANMADE EXPLOSION IN HISTORY
PRODUCED A MUSHROOM CLOUD

WHICH PEAKED AT 40 MILES,

AROUND 7 TIMES THE HEIGHT
OF MOUNT EVEREST.

BUILDINGS 70 MILES AWAY
WERE DESTROYED.

WINDOWS WERE SHATTERED
300 MILES AWAY.

MONITORS WHO PICKED UP
THE SHOCKWAVE

HAD BEEN EXPECTING
SOMETHING MOMENTOUS,

BUT NOTHING
OF THIS MAGNITUDE.

WE WERE REALLY IMPRESSED
WITH THE FACT THAT

THEY WERE ABLE
TO AIR-DROP THAT THING.

AND EVEN MORE IMPRESSED
WHEN WE REALIZED THAT,

HAD THEY USED
MUCH MORE URANIUM IN IT,

WHICH THEY COULD'VE,

IT WOULD'VE BEEN
100 MEGATONS.

IT WAS REALLY AMAZING.

Schreiber: THE IMPLICATIONS
WERE CLEAR TO THE ANALYSTS...

IF THE TSAR BOMB WERE DROPPED
ON WASHINGTON, D.C.

AND DETONATED AT AN OPTIMUM
HEIGHT OF 2,000 FEET,

THE INITIAL FIREBALL
WOULD INCINERATE

EVERYTHING AND EVERYBODY
WITHIN 3 MILES.

PEOPLE 12 MILES AWAY
WOULD SUFFER THIRD-DEGREE BURNS.

MOST BUILDINGS 20 MILES AWAY
WOULD BE DESTROYED.

IN THIS SCENARIO,

IT WOULD KILL MORE THAN
1 MILLION PEOPLE INSTANTLY,

PERHAPS 3.5 MILLION
IN TOTAL.

THE ALTITUDE
AT WHICH A BOMB DETONATES

IS A CRITICAL FACTOR.

DR. MARTIN KALINOWSKI
WAS ASKED TO DETERMINE

WHAT HAPPENED TO THE FALLOUT
FROM THE TSAR BOMB.

THE BIG DIFFERENCE IS
THAT THE TSAR BOMB

WAS EXPLODED
AT 4 KILOMETERS' HEIGHT,

WHEREAS THE BRAVO TEST
TOOK PLACE CLOSE TO GROUND.

BUT THERE IS
A SECOND ISSUE

ABOUT WIND SPEEDS
AND DIRECTIONS.

THIS IS A SNAPSHOT
OF THE PLUME

AFTER 6 HOURS.

GROUND ZERO IS MARKED HERE
WITH THE RED STAR.

DIFFERENT COLORS,

INDICATING THE PLOT OF THE PLUME
AT DIFFERENT HEIGHTS.

THE IMPORTANT THING IS

THERE IS NO VERTICAL TRANSPORT,
NEITHER DOWNWARDS NOR UPWARDS.

THE WHOLE PLUME IS TRAVELING
TOWARDS THE EAST.

PARTICLES TRANSPORTED
WITH FAST WIND SPEEDS

HAD NO CHANCE
TO REACH GROUND.

IT TOOK 48 HOURS BEFORE
ANY FALLOUT REACHED THE GROUND.

BY THAT TIME,

THE VERY SHORT-LIVED
RADIOACTIVITY

HAD ALREADY DECAYED

AND THE CONCENTRATIONS
WERE VERY LOW.

Schreiber: STILL, THE LOW
INITIAL FALLOUT OF THE TSAR BOMB

WAS TOO MUCH
FOR THE MAN WHO BUILT IT.

SAKHAROV'S OWN ESTIMATE WAS
THAT 500,000 PEOPLE WORLDWIDE

WOULD SUFFER,
IN SUCCEEDING DECADES,

AS THE RADIATION DEPOSITED
BY THE HUGE CLOUD

SLOWLY DISSIPATED.

ONLY MONTHS AFTER THE TSAR BOMB
WAS DETONATED,

IN A REMARKABLE TURNAROUND,
ANDREI SAKHAROV BECAME

A FIERCE CRITIC
OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

Kojevnikov: SAKHAROV
BECAME THE LEADER

OF THE PROTEST GROUP
IN THE SOVIET UNION,

LARGELY BECAUSE THERE WAS
NO WAY TO CONTAIN

THE RADIOACTIVE
CONTAMINATION.

Schreiber: BECAUSE
OF OFFICIAL SECRECY,

THERE ARE ONLY ESTIMATES
OF THE IMPACT

OF THE SOVIET BOMB TESTS,

BUT SAKHAROV AND HIS FRIENDS
HAD FIRSTHAND EVIDENCE.

Altshuler: ALL THE EFFECTS
OF POLLUTION

WERE TOP-SECRET.

MY FRIEND
MICHAEL MARINOV,

WHEN HE WAS IN KAZAKHSTAN,
BEING A STUDENT IN 1957,

HE SLEPT ON THE STREET
BECAUSE OF GOOD WEATHER

AND THERE WAS A RAIN
DURING THIS NIGHT

AND, THE NEXT DAY,
HE BECAME TOTALLY BALD.

THE REASON
IS VERY SIMPLE...

BECAUSE THERE WERE
SOME NUCLEAR TESTS

AND SOME WIND
AND SOME CLOUDS

AND THERE WAS RADIOACTIVE RAIN.

NOBODY SAID A WORD,
NOTHING,

BUT HE BECAME TOTALLY BALD
AFTER THAT.

AND HE DIED OF CANCER MUCH
LATER, BUT IT WAS CONNECTED.

Schreiber: THE TRUE IMPACT
OF THE SOVIET TESTS

IS STILL UNKNOWN.

THE EFFECTS OF AMERICA'S BOMBS
IN THE PACIFIC

REMAIN EQUALLY CONTROVERSIAL.

THE UNITED STATES
WAS GRANTED PERMISSION

TO USE BIKINI
BY THE ISLAND'S KING JUDA,

BUT HIS SON, TWO YEARS OLD
WHEN HE LEFT BIKINI,

SAYS HIS FATHER LIVED

TO REGRET HIS DECISION.

Tomaki Juda:
IT WAS A MISTAKE BECAUSE,

YOU KNOW, THE UNITED STATES
IS NOT TREATING US GOOD.

THE UNITED STATES
PROMISED US THAT

"WE'RE GOING TO USE YOUR ISLAND
FOR A SHORT TIME,"

BUT THAT WAS NOT TRUE.

HE COULDN'T REALLY
UNDERSTAND

HOW STRONG WAS THE THING
THEY WERE GOING TO USE

AT BIKINI ATOLL.

Schreiber: BRAVO WAS ONLY ONE
OF 67 NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS

ON BIKINI AND NEIGHBORING
ENIWETOK ATOLL.

THE POUNDING THEY TOOK
IS HARD TO VISUALIZE.

IT EQUALED THE DROPPING
OF ONE HIROSHIMA BOMB

EVERY DAY FOR 25 YEARS.

ISLANDERS WERE ENCOURAGED
TO RETURN IN 1969,

WHEN THE ATOLL
WAS DECLARED SAFE.

BUT, DURING THE 1970s,
THEY LEFT AGAIN,

WHEN NEW EVIDENCE SHOWED

BIKINI WAS STILL
DANGEROUSLY RADIOACTIVE.

TODAY, BIKINI ISLANDERS
LIVE ELSEWHERE

IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS AND SOME
OF THEM IN THE UNITED STATES.

BIKINI HAS NO
PERMANENT INHABITANTS.

LEADERS OF THE EXILED COMMUNITY,
INCLUDING THE MAYOR,

MAKE PERIODIC VISITS...

THIS ONE,
THE FIRST IN TWO YEARS.

ON THE ISLAND WHERE HIS
ANCESTORS LIVED FOR CENTURIES,

THERE'S NOW
A MONITORING PROGRAM

FUNDED BY THE U.S.
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY.

IT TRACKS RADIATION LEVELS
IN SPECIFIED COCONUT TREES,

MONITORS RADIOACTIVITY

IN THE ISLAND'S
GROUNDWATER,

AND THEY'VE PLANTED A GARDEN

TO HELP DETERMINE
WHEN CROPS GROWN HERE

WILL BE SAFE TO EAT,

BUT, BECAUSE
OF THEIR PAST EXPERIENCE,

ISLANDERS ARE SUSPICIOUS
ABOUT OFFICIAL STATEMENTS.

ACCORDING TO DoE, YOU KNOW,

THEY SAY THAT IT'S
SAFE ENOUGH TO COME BACK

AND THE MORE IT RAINS,

THE MORE
THE RADIATION GOES OUT,

BUT I ACTUALLY WAS ONE
OF THOSE KIDS

THAT GOT RELOCATED
BACK IN THE 1970s.

SOME PEOPLE SAY
IT'S NOT SAFE YET,

SO I GUESS IT'S HOW
YOU LOOK AT THE PICTURE.

RIGHT NOW, WE ARE
AT THE OLD GRAVEYARD SITE

FROM BEFORE THE TESTING
WAS HAPPENING ON BIKINI.

THESE GRAVES ARE
OUR GRANDFATHERS

AND GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS.

BIKINI ARE ALL ONE FAMILY,

SO ANYBODY DIES,
WE'RE ALL RELATED.

Schreiber: THE UNITED STATES
HAS, OVER THE YEARS,

PAID ALMOST $200 MILLION
IN COMPENSATION

AND IN ITS EFFORTS
TO CLEAN UP BIKINI.

BUT IT APPEARS IT WILL REMAIN
AN ISLAND OF GHOSTS.

Kelen:
THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL,

THEY TRAVELED FOR 40 YEARS,
BUT THE CHILDREN OF BIKINI?

I REALLY DON'T KNOW IF WE
WILL EVER COME BACK TO BIKINI.

Schreiber: THE LAST BOMB TEST
HERE WAS IN 1958

AND THE TSAR BOMB WAS AMONG
THE LAST SOVIET TESTS CONDUCTED

IN THE OPEN ATMOSPHERE.

PARTLY BECAUSE
OF THE HORROR INSPIRED

BY THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BOMB

AND THE DANGERS OF ANOTHER
RADIATION DISASTER,

LIKE CASTLE BRAVO,

BOTH SIDES AGREED
TO A TEST BAN TREATY IN 1963,

CONFINING FURTHER TESTS
UNDERGROUND,

TO PREVENT FALLOUT.

IN THE SOVIET UNION,
ANDREI SAKHAROV BECAME

AN IMPORTANT SYMBOL
OF PROTEST

AND WAS UNDER
POLICE SURVEILLANCE.

THE INVENTOR OF
THE WORLD'S BIGGEST BOMB

WAS AWARDED
THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE IN 1975.

HIS AMERICAN COUNTERPART,
HAROLD AGNEW,

ALSO PLAYED A KEY ROLE

THROUGHOUT THIS
EXTRAORDINARY PERIOD.

Agnew: I NEVER HAD
ANY QUALMS

THAT WHAT WE WERE DOING
WAS NECESSARY, AT THE TIME,

BUT I'VE SAID, MANY TIMES,
POLITICIANS SHOULD HAVE TO

GET IN THEIR UNDERWEAR
AND WATCH A MEGATON BLAST

AND FEEL THE HEAT

AND IT'D REALLY MAKE BETTER
THINKERS OUT OF SOME OF THEM.

"SECRETS OF THE DEAD"
WAS MADE POSSIBLE BY

CONTRIBUTIONS
TO YOUR PBS STATION

FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU.

THANK YOU.

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