Moruroa: the big secret

This award-winning documentary examines the destructive nature of nuclear bomb testing around Tahiti’s Moruroa Atoll by the French government. Since the 1960s the atoll has been the site of around 180 tests producing radiation levels 850 times greater than that created by the Hiroshima blast in 1945. Contrary to France’s claim that the tests posed no danger to the people of the region, the film reveals, through interviews with some of the 20,000 Tahitian workers employed at the test site, that radiation has had a devastating effect on their health and well being and that of their families. Although the French ceased testing in the Pacific in 1996, their decision to conduct a final series of tests in 1995 was greeted with worldwide condemnation. With one of the highest cancer rates in the world, Tahitians living in the area are still paying the price of the French military’s refusal to acknowledge their concerns. A study guide accompanies the film, which is suitable for secondary students, and teachers of Studies of Society and Environment, Pacific history, English issues, Geography and Environmental studies.