Memo to F a Camm, Subject: Questions and Answers on Eniwetok Atoll (Attachments)

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ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION QUESTIONSAND ANSWERSON ENIWETOKATOLL The followingrepresentsour initialreply to the questionsyou raisedconcerningEniwetokAtoll duringthe meetingin your office last Mmiay. It is expectedthat our data wi11 becomesomewhat mre refinedwithin the next few weeks. You will be advisedof any new or significantadditions. Answer 1: ‘Ihesubjectof the Act is “EnvironmentalQualityProtection Territory. Basically,it coverswater, air, and land wide range of environmentaluses,to establish of the Interior,is forwardinga copy of us. We shouldhave it in a dav or two. the Law to and informus accordingly. Mr. John Stewart,NV, is sendingus a news clipping which discussesthe Act. Question2: What is the total land area of EniwetokAtoll? What is the total contaminatedarea? land area for all islandscomprisingthe Atoll come to 2.83 squaremiles or about 1,809 acres. Mr. Stewartts sourcesalso indicatethat abouthalf of the islands in the Atoll need cleaningup. Specifically,4 or 5 need extensivecoverage,12 need moderateto light coverage,and 2 or more need light coverage. BEST COPY AVAILABLE

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This informationis in considerthat 20 of the Atoll’s42 isia.n&are in need Qwstion 3: Describethe Bikiniand Eniwetokland use histories. Answer 3: See the attachedmemorandumfrom Cochranto Swindle,subject: requirementsand magnitudeof AEC effort duringcleanup. Answer4: See attachedpaper from NV which has been staffedthrough Question5: How many Marshalleseare expectedto return to Eniwetok Answer 5: The answeris unsettledand probablynot now capableof absolutedetermination.The answerturns on eligibility. Recordsindicatethat 120 personswere removedfrom the Atoll. Estimateson thoseeligibleto returnrange from that figureto about 200. Effortsare being made to obtain a figurefrom the Departmentof the Interior,Office of Trust Territories. was no need to decontaminatethe soil at Bikinisince was no contaminationby directmeans (i.e.,explosions directlyover the islands. Most shotswere from barges, The preponderantsourceof contaminationresultedfrom Source: Joe Deal, lXX. 1. Cy memo i% Cochranto

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the time we POSED BY G. WIM!WUT, DIR, ON JULY 27, 1971 virtwe or aut-noritydid AEC mow in-io13niwiok at

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Aaswzr: The above history of Bikini and if any, contractual obligations Eniwetok indicates AI!Chad few, to perform clean-q at its own expensesa~d no public pressuzesw’nichwould conpel it to do so. Today tinecontractterm would deter.tinewhetheror not AEC would fuml a clean-up. As to the physical clean-up, it would appear from recent situations such as Weldon Springraf”finatepits and Lake Ontario OrdnanceWorks that AEC would be responsiblefor taking action to perform clean-u~if AEC had been a principal Division of Contracts

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TALKINGPAPER FOR VISIT WITH GENERALDUN Identificationof DNA contactofficer. Whether engineeringsurveyof August 9, 1972, is required. Interfaceof AEC and MID funding. (AEC should fund direct radiologicalsurvey costs. ~D shouldprovidelogistic support for radiologicalsurveys,for all engineeringsurveys, and for all cleanupcosts.) PACE status and any adverseimpacton subsequentcleanup. The island of Eniwetokshouldbe reservedas the logistic made visit to Eniwetokfor PACE site selection plan prelitiary survey. to TTPI by the end of 1973. AEC preliminarysurveyof Eniwetok. PACE surveillanceteam to RLmit. See issues above. D,NAengineeringteamvisit Eniwetokfor cost and

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Week of Aubmt 7 ..... III. Support Requirements Parry, and Eniwetok. Cormnencefinal surveyand cleanup. Housing and feedingsupport. recommendsD.NArather than SAMTEC. Ray also recommendsuse of H@i as prime supportcontractor.) AEC ship Palumboon the present schedule. More frequentair transportationin and out of Eniwetok.

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It has appeared probable that Eniweto!i,which l&.snot yet candidate for rehabili-ba.tionand return to the kkrshallese. Since nid-April ].$)”72,this probability has beccme reality, with a public co,nmitmer-tby the United States to return Eniwet@c to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands by the end of 1973. (See lhcl. 1). It has been known, due to the nature of the testing which was conducted at Eniweiok, that cleanup and rehabilitation when it did occur would be significantly more dift’icv.ltand more costly than had been similar activities at Bikini, It was also suspected that increased.environmental sensitivity factors in an Eniwetok rehabilitation. There were and are on-going ~~ctivitIes of the Ilspartmeut of Defense and other public and private a~encies which could aggre.va.tethe known (and unknown) radiological probl ems zund. w’hich could subject tb.eirparticipants to urmecessary and

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radiologicalsafety and control. At this time the Island of Runit (Yvonne) was identified as a significant and potentially serio-usradAuguzt 1973- NV participated with Dr. Walter Schmitt of Scripp Institute of Oceanography in discussions of aquiculture experiments winic’nhe proposed to expressed concern because of the known widespread contamination of ?k.nitand strongly recommended the adoption of stringent radiological surveillant March 1%’2 NV representatives together with the Director, DOS, Hq, made a liaison and planning visit to the Trust Territoryin connectionwith a plarmed took this opportunity to visit Eniwetok for a firsthand view of the operational implications of a preliminary survey of I?niweto!<.At the and la-Lerformally and in writing that the Air Force adopt m-ore stringent and comprehensive radiological control of EniweLok Atoll than had The MC survey team having coi~~pletedits survey to a preliminary survey of Enivetok. Although this was not separately funded, it WP.Sdone vith INS approval and at small incremental cost. native leaders .zmdothers on a visit to Enivcto!$ Two men’ocrsof the NY SWWY team were r~iained

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certain disquietingresultsof the survey which had just been completed. Preliminary on Runit Island of pieces of either plutoniun metal or of another metal heavily contaminated originated on K%-ajalei.naddressed to the host be quarantined until appi”opriateradiological control actions co~ld be takea. For the nest part the above actions have been taken without at leas specific Headcyaarters direction alt’nou~hthey have been discussed from time to time with the staff. However, at the present time it seem-sappropriate to seek policy direction and to reccfirmendcertain Washington level actions. Nest f~dameiltally, ihe~e appears to be no question that a cleanup and rehabilitation of Eniveto!<will be undertaken in the reasonably near futwe and that the AEC will h.=——-— 1~.t,ha date certain established for the return of Enivetok to the Trust Territory, the time available for planning a cleanup has now Atoll must be accc.~plish=d-;-Ho assignment of responsibility for -., ----------- rehabilitation effort (includ’i–~~~cleanup) will occur after the

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OUI-recent experiences with Eriiwetokhave demonstratedan urgent need for agency-level coordination of’fut[’~aUnited Stakes actions pertainingto that Atoll. The visit of the lJarshallesein Ilay headed up by the Deputy High Commissioner, the District AcW~inistra-tor of the Marshall Islands District, Micronesia Congressman Ataji Bales (a severe critic of U. S. actions in Micronesia), the Magistrate and a Councilman froinUjelang (the present hone of the Eniwetokese), the Dist’rictAttorney of the Marshall Islands and several attorneys who are in a lawyer-client relationship to the Eniwetok leaders and people. ~.qethru~~ of the vi~itJ as evidenced by a close-out tion on the part of the Marshallese to determine their owm destiny by drawing up their own specifications for rehabilitation, their dismay at the continuing use of their lands for a variety Or c-pparentl, unrelated and uncoordinated purpoces and, specifically re~arding the lawyers, their clear intentionto documnt in detail.current and future United States actions for later use in be’klf o“ QIQC ~~s been brought to the attention of the General Counsel, Hq). interests at the May 20th meeting and because there were issues attended at the request of the Deputy Hi@ Coirm,issi-oneraccepted I responsibility for two actions: e, to convey to appropriate national level authorities the need for central.U. S. Goverrmmt coordination of all future actions pertaining to llniwetok. to convey to the same authorities the desire and the need of both the Marshallese and, in their behalf, the Trust Territory Administration for current and accurate infor- (In thj.s connection, it is noted that there is in the tape recorded record of the meeting an acknowleclzementi by the Deputy High Co~@issioner that until lkrch 1972 tbe Trust Territory Administration vas riotaware of’the

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to Eniwtok. I recomend that the Comission see}:to have such a dcsignabion made at the earliest possible time in order that ‘- tir~el:{funding, pkming, coordination and execution may replace the curently uncoordinated action-reaction cycle. Assistant General I?anager for Assistant General Manager for

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Ambassador Franklin Haydn tAJilliams have issued a joint annourmemcnt indicating that the United States Government is prepared to return Eniwrtok atoll to the .Trust Tcrt-itory at the end of 1973. Eniwetok atoll is onc of the areas of the Marshall Islands District v{hcre the United States has been involved in defense research and development projects since 1946. The people of the atoll \vere relocated to other islands in the Marshal is, and had recently announced their intention to return to their home island, L’; the end of In their statement High Commissioner Johnston and Ambassador LVilliams said that future Micrcnc~!an land needs of the Department of Defense were s:t forth in the third round of status negotiations vdlich teak p!ace in Hawaii last year. “There Ambassador Williams stated th;t Marshatls, the need for research and development activities at Kwajalein would not disappear in the foreseeable future.” The statement added, however, that Ambassador Williams fur[hcr noted that “it may someday become possible to consolidate our testing activities in the Pacific and concurrently rcducc our land interests in the The announcement said that “the status of Eniwetok has been under study by the various departments and agencies in the United States government ever since the, possibility of returning Bikini Atoll was first considered. Over the years, the Depcrtrnent of Defense has been striving to bring i~s work on Eniwetok to a close. (Now) SC!100f Of fklursing, fklr~ Coleman, F/ife of the Deputy High Commissioner, pins a cap on }Aiss Tl)codora Joseph (Truk}. Fifteen girls rcceivml caps during the ceremonies. the United States government has in fact been able to structure its research plans and programs in such a v:ay to permit an early return of the atoll to the p:ople oi High Commissioner Johnston telephoned Marsha[ls (April 18) to announce the return of the aioll, ;nd Territory administration v{ill begin immediately to work with the people of Eniwetok on a timetable and ether plans for a rehabilitation prograrfi. In this rtgarcf, the HiCom noted that Deputy High Commissioner Peter T. Coieman was to accompany_ Ambassacior VJilliarns on his trip through the e:stcrn districts, enc!lng in Majuro where he had sch.cd(lled meetings with Eniwctokcse at the district center. Cc!ernan also plwsncd to overfly the Eniwetok complzx 011 ilis way to an inspection of Bikini atoll, where the a~riculiurdl rehabilitation of that former atomic testing site is notv being closed out. The HiCorn said [hat at some future date IIIC [eadcr5 of Eniwctok will bc invited to Bikini to cbservc tl)e rehabilitation program there in action. He said further that the people of Eniwetok \vill be consulted at every step along the way in the rehabilitation program. DistAd DcBrun] said that he was deaply grateful to the High Conlmissioner and Ambassador ~~;illiams fcr their long and hard efforts to expedite the return of the aIoll to the people. He said he looked forward to the rnectings with Deputy HiCorn Coleman and to t)cginning the P1anning for the reversion of ~nivw!ok to ihc Trust Eleven male nursing sfucfcnts rcccivecf badges during rt:e particular ceremony makes thcje students full. fledged member of the TT Atursing School.

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Ierritory so that the rehabilitation program coukf get According to the joint an!nounccmcrit, it v~ill be necessary to carry out the same type of survey, cleanup and rehabilitation procedures that have f.wcn used at U.S. plans to commcncc the suI\cy of the atoll p[obably late this summer. The cleanup and rchabilitatir.m of the southeastern part of the ~toll, will receive first priority.” Prior. to the return of Eniwctok to Trust Tert-itory “the Uhitcd States is completing some rcssarch and development testing on the atoll v~hich will not involve nuclear detonations of any Iypc. These tests will in no way interfere with an early commencement of the rehabilitation process andwill becompletecf bythc end of The M/V Pacifica left Koror Iatc last month for th, trip. However this trip is a special one for the islanders o Sonsorol, Tobi, and Pulo Anna. and has been d;lbbe( .Thc reason is that the ship is carrying materials am men to construct long-awaited public buildings at t~,m, three locations. On board the ship arc two prcfzbricat.x dispensary buildings, cmc for Somoroi and tiic o~i~er fol Tobi, and a municipal building for the island of Pulc The construction operation is the largest of its kind: ever staged in Pa[au District. The M/V Pacifica is carryin$ a team of tcn men for each of the three islands. Tbtese teams wilt assist in unloading the supplies, and will then remain on the islands for about five to six vjeeks completing construction of the buildings. The tezms arc cornposcd of men from the District public 11’orks Department, the Community Dcvclopmcnt Division, arm the military Civic Action Team in Palau. The residents of Kayengel Atoll, zbout sixty miles north of Koror. Pali?u, have seized another foreign fishing vessel. [t is the second time in Icss than a year that the Kaycngel Islanders have apprehended a ship for allqxliy violating the v:aters around their islands. The latest incident occurred when a boat flying a Nationalist Chinese flag was spotted v.’ithin the three.mile limit, apparently fishing. The residents who sa,.v the boat. notified a Trust Territory Government boat which ~vas doing cllannci blasting in tile vicinity, and the government boat pickcrf up [he Magistrate and scr;cral men from I!IC fishing Ivilllill Ilw tllrcrlnilc Ilrnil, and her O\’fllc;s I,id lo pay a sub~tdn!ial fine before tlw snip was rcluascd.