Operation Totem at Maralinga was held in September 1956, with the Operation Buffalo series. Operation Totem Operation Totem was a pair of British atmospheric nuclear tests which took place at Emu Field in South Australia on 15 October 1953. They followed the Operation Hurricane test of the first British atomic bomb, which had taken place at the Montebello Islands a year previously. The main purpose of the trial was to determine the acceptable limit on the amount of plutonium-240 which could be present in a bomb. In addition to the two main tests, there was a series of five subcritical tests. These
Atomic veteran represented by Association Moruroa E Tatou. The organisation has been critical of the French government's initial denial of harm, and limited commitment to compensation to total value of $13.5 million. The president of Association Moruroa E Tatou estimates that between 15,000 and 30,000 people worked on the test program, but the official number remains a national secret. Australian servicemen supported British nuclear weapons test programs at Emu Field, Maralinga, the Montebello Islands and Christmas Island during period 1952-1963. Associations representing Australian atomic veterans include the Australian Nuclear Veterans Association. and the Australian Ex-Servicemen Atomic Survivors Association. The Clarke Review of