A vast area in South Australia, comparable in size to a French department, was used for nuclear testing during the Cold War. This land, known as Maralinga, is the traditional home of the Maralinga Tjarutja people, a group belonging to the larger Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal community. The Australian government granted the area to the United Kingdom for a series of nuclear tests conducted between 1956 and 1963. These tests stopped abruptly in 1963 with the signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited nuclear testing in the atmosphere, underwater, and in space. During this period, the UK conducted seven major nuclear tests and over 200 smaller ones at Maralinga. More than 22 kilograms of plutonium-239, a highly radioactive and carcinogenic substance, were released, contaminating approximately 1,200 Aboriginal people. The nuclear tests were carried out in two phases. From September 27, 1956, to October 9, 1957, the UK detonated seven nuclear devices, including four in Operation Buffalo and three in Operation Antler. Some of the mushroom clouds from these tests reached nearly 14,000 meters in height, and radioactive fallout was detected over 2,000 kilometers away in Townsville. Additional "minor" tests continued for another decade, up to 1963, to study weapon components and safety procedures. In particular, a sector north of the main test site, known as Taranaki, was used for safety tests where plutonium was scattered over a wide area. This region later became the focus of a royal commission, which found it to be the most contaminated area. The Aboriginal communities and Australian military personnel stationed at the site were not adequately warned about the dangers of radiation exposure before the tests. As a result, many people were unprepared for the long-term health effects of contamination. Concerns about the lingering radiation led to the establishment of the Royal Commission into British Nuclear Tests in Australia in 1985, chaired by Judge James McClelland. The commission found that significant radiation risks still existed on parts of the site and recommended a new cleanup. However, it did not fully accept claims from some Aboriginal people that they had been harmed by fallout due to a lack of conclusive evidence. In 1994, the Australian government compensated the Maralinga Tjarutja people with 13.5 million Australian dollars, though this came with the condition that they abandon all claims against the government. Despite multiple cleanup efforts, residual contamination remained. The British government conducted an initial cleanup called Operation Brumby, which involved removing debris and plowing the soil to dilute the contamination. However, in 1984, Australian scientists found widespread plutonium contamination still present. A second major cleanup in the 1990s focused on the Taranaki area, costing 108 million Australian dollars and completed in 2000. In 2009, the government agreed to a third cleanup after the full return of the land to the Maralinga Tjarutja people. While the site was declared safe in 2000, concerns about the long-term health effects of radiation exposure continue. Today, the main community at Maralinga, known as Oak Valley, includes a school, and the area is gradually becoming more accessible to the public.