The Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal, which owes more than two billion dollars in compensation to victims of US atomic tests, has halted payments, saying it was running out of money.

Tribunal chairman Gregory Danz said the US government-provided fund was down to 120,852.87 dollars at the end of May. It halted payments on Monday.

The United States tested 67 nuclear weapons in the western Pacific atoll nation from 1946 to 1958 and the tribunal was set up to compensate those displaced or suffering health problems due to the tests.

Bill Graham, the tribunal's public advocate who represents claimants, said more than 23 million dollars in personal injury awards along with 2.2 billion in land damage and nuclear clean up awards remain unpaid.

The fund provided by the US Congress through a Compact of Free Association with the Marshall Islands started out in 1986 at 150 million dollars and has produced more than 300 million dollars in interest.

Of that amount, 182 million went to the four most heavily exposed atolls, about 50 million paid for a health care programme, and the tribunal has provided about 73 million in compensation.

Jack Niedenthal, a local government official on Bikini Atoll, one of the worst affected areas, said the compensation fund had proved a failure.

"I would go as far as to say that with respect to the nuclear victims of the Marshall Islands, the first Compact of Free Association was a total ripoff," Niedenthal.

"The blame for this failure goes equally to the US and Marshall Islands governments for negotiating without carefully considering the magnitude of the compensation issues facing these victims."

Because of the limited funds, the tribunal has since 1991 provided an initial payment of five to 25 percent of personal injury awards and followed with an annual payment to the victims.

But in 2006 the annual payments were halted and now the initial payments have been brought to a halt.

Some years ago the Marshall Islands government asked the US Congress to provide additional funds to meet all tribunal payments.

There has been no official reply, however a Bush administration report in 2005 stated Washington was under no legal obligation to provide additional compensation.

Share This Article With Planet Earth