Ethicality of Safety

     After the initial drop of the atomic bombs over Japan, only a few knew of the effects of radiation and the health consequences that it posed to the population. Yet, instead of keeping territory free from radiation, the news that radiation was a possible fallout from this type of weaponry was kept secret, as Johnston asserts, “It was in this context – where public and congressional debate over the future of atomic weapons testing was influenced by the nonclassified version of the initial biomedical reports from Nagasaki and Hiroshima, which suggested that atomic weapons produced immense immediate effect but no obvious long-term effect – that Operations Crossroads was planned" (Johnston, 29). The common people were made to believe that they could participate in atomic tests and suffer no injuries as long as they followed commander's instructions, as John Smitherman has let us know in the documentary, Atomic Bikini. However, the reality was that a “detailed survey by navy, army, and Manhattan Project scientists documented to a much greater degree the lingering effects of radiation and the human health consequences of radiation exposure” causing a number of men unknowingly volunteer as guinea pigs during the atomic bombing of Bikini Atoll.

     The controversial classified information is revealed only after much of its processes has been executed. The ethicality of Officers keeping this information from the crew is questionable. It goes to show how little we know about certain subjects and would instead accept what we're told as true, rather than do at least a minimal check on the credibility of superiors. Finding out the potential destructiveness of the atomic bomb through means of deception raises the question of what purpose it genuinely served and who are the ones who had to pay the price.