Non-radioactive but nuclear? Containment and circulation of wastes from the French nuclear tests in Polynesia

Abstract

Beside Moruroa and Fangataufa, the two atolls where atomic bombs were detonated, the conduction of the French nuclear tests from 1966 to 1995 in Polynesia required the deployment of infrastructure throughout the whole archipelago. Their gradual decommissioning until the early 2010s produced massive volumes of wastes scattered through different islands. While being mainly non-radioactive but chemically polluted, the management and circulation of these materials, mainly consisting of gravels and soils, is currently stopped due to their perceived “nuclearity” (Hecht, 2012). Building on a case study developed in the atoll of Hao, which hosted the nuclear tests’ support base, this paper offers to document how these non-radioactive materials are defined as nuclear, thus confining their circulation. Results show that these wastes’ “nuclearity” results from their integration on multi-level conflicts.