Picture taken in 1971, showing a nuclear explosion in Mururoa atoll.
Photo: AFP
Last week s release of a new study led to fresh accusations that the French authorities misled the public about the seriousness of the test fallout.
An independent French outfit, the news website Disclose, released an analysis of declassified French documents, concluding that the fallout of a 1974 atmospheric test affected the entire population and not only the immediate testing zone around Morurua.
The researchers found that in some cases the impact was up to 10 times higher than previously established.
This information came just weeks after the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research said evidence from French Polynesia didn t allow to conclude that the atmospheric tests caused illnesses, such as cancers.