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ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION Division of Military Application There are several.areas of concern that we have for this :qrr-mc.r11; 1. We have concluded that the responsibility for r:idioJ.o,:ic,lLsxi'ety, of' the rehabilitation of Bikini Atoll for which the Department of Interior is looking to the AEC, is a continuing responsibiiity that will persist long after the JTF-8 scrap removal operation is completed. The initialscrapremovableprojectis only n porL;ion this problem and anything unexpected that occurs in the yenrs - ahead, the responsibility for determining when health and safety requirements are met should not be.delegated to the Project Manager. 2. Cur ususl procedure for assuring safe operations snd d4xrminiq-; that program objectives are to be met is to require :Lreview (>.I and results obtained at the close of'operations. A requirement i'orthese functions to be performed by AEC should brawri.tkn .inLo :iret:tkcnto avoid or minimize exposure, then I'OUOWII]~::IIJ*v~*~:; and studies are made to insure the adequacy of these measures. This is particularly appropriate for the Bikini resettletrlent wherein AEC has made reccxmnendationsaffecting the'agriculturnl recovery of the Atoll and covering a level of followup requiring: Q.continual chxk of the radiation atstus of the peop!('. lki:; with sai'~.l;yrequirements to the Project Manager. kept informed as it progresses* In this regsrd; and while we can understand the need to get started in the near future',WC'n.rI concernellthat there appears to be no provisionfor MC to J'oJ.Low this effort such that we may keep ourselvesand others inforrrred.
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5. In considering a mechanism whereby AEC may determine that the contaminated scrap cleanup job or other portions of the resettlement effort are completed, it is probably undesirn.b.Lr~to saddle any one individual with such decisions. As with the initial judgement that resettlement could take place, an Ad I!oc grCJUIJconniderution may be the best approach. In any evrnt, with Dr. Gustavson*s predictions and the 1967 AEC survey formin:: the basis for a finding that risks associated with radiation exposure would not preclude a return to Bikini.,it is iIlCUIIh?lJt upon ARC to insure that risks beyond those prc4ictrd (10r+l. occur, exposures of the returning people are at tinaccept:~L~:Le level, and provisions of the Ad Hoc Committee recommendations have been met. t. A study on fish poisoning for Bikini Lagoon. c. Agricultural product contamination. There ir,also a potential need for a study on the contamination status of shipson the bottom of Bikini Lagoon. Rewrite item No. 5 as follows: 5. The AEC will be responsible for determining that radiological health and safety requirements for the scrap removable projtct at Bikini Atoll are met at the close of this project. These
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will follow the progress made and keep interested agc.ncic::; Rewrite item No. 9 as follows: 9. A civilian contractor will provide advice and ,TlliC;.:;I:zc'fob tltc: engineering aspects of field operations plannin!:,el>':i.ne~H.ru: and technical staff support and labor for cleanup, as we1.Ia:; Add one item as follows: people rn:vnot be employed in collecting and removiru:::r'r:lr) not to work with contaminated scrap wherever it rnw be l'ou~xi. and Safety Branch