May 23rd is World Turtle Day, a day sponsored annually by the American Tortoise Rescue organization to increase knowledge of, and respect for, turtles and tortoises worldwide.
Shown here are six sequential photographs of a sea turtle being tested for radioactivity on July 26, 1957, at Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Between 1946 and 1958, the Atomic Energy Commission and the U.S. military conducted 67 atmospheric nuclear tests in the Marshall Islands during the early phases of the Cold War. Government personnel or contractors in these photographs wanted to gauge the extent to which local sea life might have been impacted by radioactive fallout.
We hope the turtle wasn’t adversely affected and went on to live a long life despite the possible nuclear contaminants in the local environment!
Series: Jobsite Photographs of the Pacific Islands, 1953 – 1959. Record Group 326: Records of the Atomic Energy Commission, 1923 – 1975. (National Archives Identifier: 7584062)