CNN记录的澳洲黑历史：英国军方在澳大利亚多次进行核试验始末

(CNN)-Yami Lester was 12 years old when the black mist came to Walatinna.

Early on the morning of October 15, 1953, Lester heard a "big bang" in the distance. This was followed by a dark, ominous-looking cloud which drifted low over the ground like a slow-moving dust storm, bringing with it an unpleasant smell.

(CNN)-亚米·莱斯特12岁时，黑色的薄雾来到瓦拉蒂纳。1953年10月15日清晨，莱斯特听到远处传来“大爆炸”的声音。接着是一片黑暗的、看上去不祥的云，它像一场缓慢移动的沙尘暴一样飘落在地面上，带来了一股令人不快的气味。

A tiny speck in the vast South Australian outback, the area around Walatinna was regarded as "depressingly inhospitable to Europeans" by early colonizers, few of whom settled there. But Indigenous people had a long history in the region, including Lester's tribe.

在广阔的南澳大利亚内陆地区，瓦拉蒂纳周围的地区被早期殖民者视为“令人沮丧的不适合欧洲人居住的地方”，很少有人在那里定居。但是土著人在这个地区有着悠久的历史，包括莱斯特部落。

As the dark cloud settled over the Walatinna camp, the tribal elders attempted to ward it off, thinking it was a malevolent spirit. In many ways they were right.

当乌云笼罩着瓦拉蒂纳营地时，部落的长老们想把它赶走，以为这是一种恶毒的幽灵。在许多方面，他们是对的。

As those exposed to it later told investigators, the black mist caused their eyes to sting and their skin to break out in rashes. Others vomited and suffered from diarrhea.

正如那些后来接触到它的人告诉调查人员的那样，黑色的雾气使他们的眼睛刺痛，他们皮疹从肌肤中爆发出来。其他人则呕吐并腹泻。

It took almost three decades until the cause of the mist was acknowledged as the Totem I nuclear bomb test, as Indigenous people had been claiming for years.

经过近三十年的时间，黑雾的原因才被承认：因为图腾一号核弹试验，正如土著人民多年来一直声称的那样。

That test was one of a number conducted in the 1950s and '60s, not by the Australian government, but by its former colonial master, the UK. Today, 65 years after the Totem I test, the effects are still being felt in South Australia and beyond.

这是20世纪50年代和60年代进行的试验之一，不是由澳大利亚政府进行的，而是由它的前殖民主人英国进行的。今天，65年后的图腾一号试验，其影响仍然感觉到在南澳大利亚和更远地区都有影响。

British bomb

英国炸弹

Australia was not the UK's first choice of nuclear testing site. British scientists had been intimately involved in the Manhattan Project during World War II, and fully expected to be able to follow the US in testing their own nuclear weapon on American soil.

澳大利亚不是英国首选的核试验场。在第二次世界大战期间，英国科学家密切参与了曼哈顿计划，完全可以跟随美国在自己的领土上试验核武器。

However, after it emerged Soviet spies had infiltrated the US atomic program, Washington passed the McMahon Act, which strictly limited the sharing of nuclear information with other countries and sent London looking for new locations to conduct its first test.

然而，在苏联间谍渗入美国核项目后，华盛顿通过了麦克马洪法案，严格限制与其他国家分享核信息，并让伦敦寻找新地点进行首次核试验。

"Ultimately, they settled on Australia, which had many benefits," said Elizabeth Tynan, author of "Atomic Thunder: The Maralinga story," a book about the tests. These includes a sympathetic, compliant government under the recently elected Anglophile Prime Minister Robert Menzies, and wide open spaces in which to carry out the detonations themselves.

“最终，他们敲定澳大利亚，这有很多好处，”伊丽莎白·泰南说，她是《原子雷霆：马拉林加故事》（记录关于这一场核试验的作者书）的作者，这本书的内容其中包括最近当选的亲英首相罗伯特·门齐斯领导的一个富有同情心、顺从的政府，以及开展引爆活动的广阔空间。

In September 1950, British leader Clement Attlee sent Menzies a secret message asking whether his government "would be prepared in principle to agree that the first United Kingdom atomic weapon should be tested in Australian territory."

1950年9月，英国领导人克莱门特·艾德礼向门齐斯发出了一条秘密信息，询问他的政府“原则上是否准备同意在澳大利亚领土上试验英国的第一枚核武器”。

According to a later Australian Royal Commission investigation, Menzies "immediately agreed to the proposal," without consulting any of his cabinet colleagues or the Australian parliament. Indeed, until weeks before the first test was carried out, only three government ministers knew about it.

根据澳大利亚皇家委员会后来的一项调查，孟席斯“立即同意了这项提议”，没有咨询他的内阁同事或澳大利亚议会。事实上，直到第一次试验前几周，只有三位政府部长知道这件事。

Menzies' enthusiasm for the British bomb "wasn't all sycophantism, it wasn't all sucking up to his colonial masters," said Tynan, though this was definitely a factor. The Australian leader also saw in the atomic age an advantage for his country, which was one of the few to have large stocks of uranium, a previously largely unwanted material.

泰南说，孟席斯对英国核弹的热情“不全是恭维，也不全是对殖民主子的奉承”，尽管这绝对是一个因素。这位澳大利亚领导人还认为，在原子时代，他的国家是少数几个拥有大量铀储备的国家之一。铀是一种以前基本上不需要的材料。

The UK's first atomic bomb was detonated in the waters off the Montebello Islands, a small archipelago in north western Australia, in the early hours of October 3, 1952, officially making London the third member of the nuclear club, after the US and the Soviet Union.

1952年10月3日凌晨，英国第一枚原子弹在澳大利亚西北部的蒙特贝罗群岛)附近海域引爆，使伦敦正式成为核俱乐部的第三个成员，仅次于美国和苏联。

Emu Field

Emu 地区

While the Montebello Islands were used for the first test, British planners were never totally happy with the location, and even before the bomb was set off they began looking for a site on the Australian mainland where they could be granted greater secrecy and autonomy.

虽然第一次试验用的是蒙特贝罗群岛，但英国的规划者对这个地点并不完全满意，甚至在炸弹引爆之前，他们就开始在澳大利亚大陆寻找一个地点，在那里他们可以获得更大的保密和自主权。

They settled on a location in the Great Victoria Desert, about 480 kilometers (300 miles) from the nearest town, Woomera, which they named Emu Field.

他们在大维多利亚沙漠的一个地方定下来，距离最近的小镇Woomera大约480公里(300英里)，他们把这个城镇命名为Emu Field。

Plans were soon set in motion for a second test, and on October 15, 1953, the first of the Totem devices was detonated.

第二次试验的计划很快就开始了，1953年10月15日，第一个图腾装置被引爆。

Unlike the Montebello test, which went off largely as planned, the 9.1 kiloton Totem I sent a cloud of debris and smoke some 15,000 feet (4,500 meters) into the air, spreading fallout far higher and farther than originally expected.

蒙特贝罗试验基本上是按计划进行的，与此不同的是， 9.1千吨图腾(Totem I)发射了一团碎片，并向空中喷出约15，000英尺(4，500米)高的烟雾，沉降物远比原先预计的要高得多和远的多。

The Royal Commission later found the test was carried out in inappropriate wind conditions and without proper consideration for people living nearby, examples of the often staggering lack of care taken by British officials overseeing the nuclear program, who frequently ignored or did not bother to seek out vital information about the potential effects of their tests on the host country.

英国皇家委员会后来发现，这次试验是在不合适的风力条件下进行的，没有适当考虑住在附近的人，这就是英国监督核计划的官员往往缺乏谨慎的例子。英国官员经常忽视或不费心地寻找有关试验对东道国潜在影响的重要信息。

A man in protective clothing at Maralinga with a camera also protected by a plastic cover. National Archives of Australia, A6457, P214

在马拉林加，一名男子穿着防护服，带着照相机，还戴着塑料盖子。澳大利亚国家档案馆，A 6457，P214

Black mist

黑雾

The most devastating effects were suffered by two groups: Australian and British soldiers working on the tests themselves, and the Indigenous populations local to Emu Field and the later testing site of Maralinga.

最具破坏性的影响是两个群体：澳大利亚和英国士兵自己进行试验，以及埃穆菲尔德当地的土著居民和后来的马拉林加试验场。

While some concern was paid to their safety during the tests, it was often cursory at best. A single "native patrol officer" given the thankless task of having to try and inform Indigenous residents of the potential dangers had a 100,000 square kilometer (38,610 square mile) region to cover.

虽然在试验期间对他们的安全给予了一些关注，但这往往是粗略的。一名“本土巡逻官”由于要设法向土著居民通报潜在危险的任务吃力不讨好，有10万平方公里(38 610平方英里)的区域需要覆盖。

Nor did the British much seem to care. One prominent member of the testing team, Sir Ernest Titterton, later said that if Indigenous people had a problem with the government, they should vote it out, ignoring that Indigenous Australians did not have full political rights until 1967.

英国人似乎也不太在意。测试小组的一位著名成员欧内斯特·泰特顿爵士后来说，如果土著人民与政府有问题，他们应该投票否决，而当时被忽略的土著澳大利亚人直到1967年才享有充分的政治权利。

Another senior official, in a letter to his superiors, complained that W. B. MacDougall, the man with the dubious task of trying to protect the local Indigenous populations, was "placing the affairs of a handful of natives above those of the British Commonwealth of Nations."

另一位高级官员在给上级的一封信中抱怨说，负有保护当地土著居民的可疑任务的W·B·麦克杜格尔 “把少数土著人的事务凌驾于英联邦国家的事务之上”。

"The harm done to the Aboriginal people is one of the most shameful aspects (of the tests)," Tynan said. "Nowhere in the British records is there a sign of even the slightest concern for the Aboriginal people."

泰南说：“对土著人民造成的伤害是(试验中)最可耻的方面之一。”“在英国的记录中，没有任何迹象表明他们对土著人有丝毫的担忧。”

This lack of concern is likely what led to the situation at Walatinna. Around 40 people were in the camp when the Totem I blast sent clouds of radiated material miles into the sky.

这种缺乏关注很可能是造成瓦拉蒂纳局势的原因。当“图腾一号”爆炸并把辐射物质云送入了天空时，大约有40人在营地里。

"It rumbled, the ground shook, it was frightening," Lalli Lennon told investigators. Some time later, a large black cloud passed low over the settlement. Her husband Stan described it as "sort of hazy, like a fog or something." Lalli and her children developed fevers, headaches, vomiting and diarrhea, and two of them suffered rashes and sore eyes from the smoke.

“它隆隆作响，地面震动，令人恐惧，”拉利·列侬告诉调查人员。过了一段时间，一大团黑云在定居点上空低垂而过。她的丈夫斯坦形容它“有点朦胧，像雾或什么的。”拉利和她的孩子们出现了发烧、头痛、呕吐和腹泻等症状，其中两人因吸入烟雾而产生皮疹和眼睛疼痛。

But just as they had paid little attention to the wellbeing of Indigenous people prior to the test, the British and Australian authorities did not concern themselves with such matters afterwards.

但是，正如他们在试验前很少注意土著人民的福祉一样，英国和澳大利亚当局后来也不关心这些问题。

This was reflected by and large by Australian public opinion, which Tynan said was initially "quite jubilant" about the tests, and remained broadly supportive until the 1970s and '80s, when a host of revelations about the British nuclear program exposed its lackluster safety procedures — even by the standards of the time — and the disdain of those overseeing it for Australian democratic oversight.

澳大利亚公众舆论大致上反映了这一点。泰南说，澳大利亚公众舆论最初对这些试验“相当高兴”，并且广泛支持，直到上世纪70年代和80年代，按照当时的标准，大量有关英国核计划的爆料暴露出英国核计划的乏味安全程序，以及那些负责监督澳大利亚民主人士对事件的忽视。

Panorama of the Maralinga front gate, the southern boundary the Woomera nuclear testing site, on May 05, 2011 in Australia.

马拉林加前门全景，南界伍梅拉核试验场，2011年5月5日在澳大利亚。

Maralinga mess

马拉林加的混乱

This shift began when an Australian defense ministry report was leaked to the press, warning that large amounts of plutonium left at Maralinga could potentially be a target of terrorists.

这一转变始于澳大利亚国防部的一份报告泄露给媒体，并警告说，大量钚留在马拉林加可能成为恐怖分子的目标。

This ran contrary to a 1968 report prepared by British official Noah Pearce which assured the Australian government the plutonium had been properly buried and did not present a significant risk.

这与英国官员诺亚·皮尔斯1968年编写的一份报告背道而驰，该报告向澳大利亚政府保证，钚已被妥善掩埋，没有带来重大风险。

Indeed, that year the Australians agreed to release the UK from nearly all "liabilities and responsibilities" regarding the tests, in the belief the British had "completed decontamination and debris clearance ... to the satisfaction of the Australian government."

事实上，那年，澳大利亚人同意将英国从几乎所有与试验有关的“债务和责任”中释放出来，因为他们相信英国已经“完成了净化和清除碎片的工作…令澳大利亚政府感到满意”。

When Canberra finally carried out its own survey of the site, scientists were shocked by what they found.

当堪培拉最终对该遗址进行了自己的调查时，科学家们对他们的发现感到震惊。

"They still thought the Pearce Report was accurate until their geiger counter went crazy," said Tynan, who has interviewed several of the inspectors. "They weren't wearing protective gear (and) were kicking plutonium soaked rocks with their boots."

“他们仍然认为皮尔斯报告是准确的，直到他们的盖革计数器爆表了，”泰南说，他已经采访了几名视察员。“他们没有穿防护服，而是用靴子踢了踢浸了钚的石头。”

The Royal Commission report said later that there were between "25,000 and 50,000 plutonium- contaminated fragments in the (Maralinga) area, although the number might need to be doubled if missed and buried fragments were included." Emu Field and the Montebello Islands were also found to be more dangerous than expected.

皇家委员会的报告后来说，“在马拉林加地区有25，000到50，000块受钚污染的碎片，尽管如果漏掉和掩埋的碎片被包括在内，这个数字可能需要翻一番。” Emu Field和蒙特贝罗群岛也被发现比预期更危险。

"In addition to British scientific and military personnel, thousands of Australians were exposed to radiation produced by the tests," according to a report by the Australian Institute of Criminology. "These included not only those involved in supporting the British testing program, but also Aboriginal people living downwind of the test sites, and other Australians more distant who came into contact with airborne radioactivity."

根据澳大利亚犯罪学研究所的一份报告，“除了英国的科学和军事人员外，还有成千上万的澳大利亚人受到测试产生的辐射。”这些人不仅包括那些支持英国试验计划的人，而且还包括住在试验场下游的土著人，以及其他接触到空中放射性物质的更遥远的澳大利亚人。

A prohibited area sign seen near the Maralinga nuclear test site in 1974.

1974年在马拉林加核试验场附近看到的禁区标志。

The Royal Commission hearings marked the end to any lingering approval of the tests among the Australian public, exposing fully the ongoing harm done to the local environment, Indigenous people, and the soldiers who worked on the tests.

皇家委员会的听证会结束了澳大利亚公众对试验的任何挥之不去的批准，充分暴露了对当地环境、土著人民和参加试验的士兵所造成的持续伤害。

While many disorders are difficult to link directly to the nuclear tests, veterans of the program have complained of numerous cancers, autoimmune diseases, and other ailments — including among their children — which they put down to their lack of protective clothing and other precautions at the time.

虽然许多疾病很难与核试验直接联系在一起，但参加该项目的退伍军人抱怨了许多癌症、自身免疫性疾病和其他疾病-包括他们的孩子-他们把这些疾病归因于当时缺乏防护服和其他预防措施。

Last year, the Australian government expanded medical benefits for members of the nuclear testing program, but most are now in their late 80s and one told the ABC the move was "too bloody late."

去年，澳大利亚政府扩大了核试验项目成员的医疗福利，但大多数人已经80多岁了，其中一人告诉美国广播公司，此举“太迟了”。

The harm done to Indigenous people has also been recognized in the decades since the Royal Commission, including by the black mist -- which a British official once said investigating would be a "complete waste of money and time."

自皇家委员会成立以来的几十年里，人们也认识到了对土著人民造成的伤害，包括黑雾-一位英国官员曾说，调查将是“完全浪费金钱和时间”。

In 1993, the British agreed to pay the Australian government and the traditional owners of the Maralinga lands around 46 million AUD ($30 million). The Australian authorities also paid Indigenous Maralinga communities a settlement of 13.5 million AUD ($9 million).

1993年，英国同意向澳大利亚政府和马拉林加土地的传统所有者支付4600万澳元(约合3000万美元)。澳大利亚当局还向土著马拉林加社区支付了1 350万澳元(900万美元)的澳币。

"Everyone became friends again after that," said Tynan, adding that the issue, which had dominated Australian media and public attention for years, slowly slipped away, becoming a "great Australian secret."

“在那之后，每个人都再次成为朋友，”泰南说。他补充说，这个多年来一直占据着澳大利亚媒体和公众注意力的问题慢慢地溜走了，成为“澳大利亚的一个伟大秘密”。

Today, she said she often meets young Australians who are unaware of the tests, and even many people who were alive at the time of the Royal Commission who only have a hazy idea of the issues.

今天，她说，她经常遇到年轻的澳大利亚人谁不知道这场测试的存在，甚至许多人还活着，在皇家委员会，他们只是一个模糊的概念问题。

"It was one of those things that, because it was not really written into the history books ... just dropped off the radar," she said, even as veterans and Indigenous people affected by the tests continue to suffer health repercussions and shortened lifespans because of their exposure to radiation.

她说：“这是其中一件事，因为它并没有真正写进历史书…只是没有引起注意。”她说，尽管受试验影响的退伍军人和土著人因暴露于辐射而继续受到健康影响和寿命缩短。

Yami Lester died on July 21, 2017. He was remembered in parliament by then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as a "man of wonderful intelligence and insight, as an elder of great standing and as a champion of Aboriginal rights and dignity."

亚米·莱斯特于2017年7月21日去世。时任总理马尔科姆·特恩布尔(Malcolm Turnbull)在议会中铭记他是一个“极具智慧和洞察力的人，是一位地位卓著的老人，也是土著人民权利和尊严的捍卫者”。、

"He will be revered for rising from personal tragedy to serve his community and to lead his people to ensure that they were recognized and their wrongs addressed," Turnbull added.

特恩布尔补充说：“他将因从个人悲剧中崛起而受到尊敬，为他的社区服务，并带领他的人民确保他们得到承认，他们受到的委屈得到解决。”

But as Tynan and others have pointed out, those wrongs have not been fully addressed. Health problems stemming from the tests continue for those still living, and while the veracity of Lester and other victims' stories has been acknowledged, what exactly happened to them remains unclear, the details of the nuclear test still kept top secret.

但正如泰南和其他人所指出的那样，这些错误并没有得到充分的解决。对那些仍然活着的人来说，试验产生的健康问题仍在继续，虽然莱斯特和其他受害者的故事的真实性已经得到承认，但他们到底发生了什么仍不清楚，但核试验的细节仍然是绝密的。

"To this day we don't know what Totem I did, those records are still classified by the British," Tynan said. "It remains one of the great mysteries."

泰南说：“直到今天，我们还不知道我制造了了什么核弹，那些记录仍然被英国人分类保存着。”“这仍然是一个很大的谜团。