Work on Kiritimati Island was commissioned in response to a request from the Government of Kiribati for the removal of the military waste (not necessarily decontamination) resulting from military activity during the 1950s and 1960s.
Removal of waste arising from the UK nuclear weapons test programme on the island of Kiritimati was undertaken between 2005 and 2008. Previous survey work had identified elevated levels of radioactivity associated with the presence of radium-226, commonly used to luminise vehicle instruments at the time of the test programme, but no other elevated levels of radioactivity substances were identified during the 2005 and 2008 programme.
The materials (including non-radioactive) comprised approximately:
Cubic metres/kg Bitumen 15,000 cubic metres Metal items 25,000 cubic metres Rubber 150 cubic metres Asbestos 150 cubic metres Radium luminised dials 175 kg
A total of 111 individual locations were identified where elevated levels of radioactivity associated with radium-226 were present. Removal of the radium required both the actual instrument and a small quantity of soil to be taken from the site.
The highest radioactive material fell into the low level waste category.
All of the sites were extremely localised with radium-226 restricted to an area of no more than a few square metres.