Document text
Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.
Page 1
The Under Secreta~ of Energy The Honorable Ron De Lugo Chairman, Subcommittee on Insular and International Affairs Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs U.S. House of Representatives I am writing to you in response to your letter of.October 5, 1990, to Mr. Harry U. Brown, Nevada Operations Office (NV), and to your letter of November 19, 1990, to Mr. Nick C. Aquil ina, Manager, NV, in which you requested a copy of the study referenced under “objectives” of the “Radiological Survey Plan for the Northern Marshall Islands,’’’Oepartment of Energy (OOE), August 22, 1978. I am sorry for the lengthy time in responding to your request. It has been difficult finding the appropriate individuals who participated in the study. A thorough search has been necessary to verify if a formal report of the study was indeed prepared. The “OOE study” you referenced was, in fact, a review by the technical staff at Headquarters, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), of files containing information on nuclear tests conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls. We contacted Mr. Tommy McCraw who was an AEC employee at that time and was one of’ the technical staff members involved. According to Mr. McCraw, the review included available radiological monitoring data and the meteorological information for each test. For the tests with the higher fission yields, fallout trajectories were developed from the winds for the day of the test, and atolls were identified that most likely received close-in fallout. The calculations used to do this analysis were prepared as draft working notes, were never formally published, and are no longer available. The only published information from this “DOE study” was included as Tab 8 (Enclosure 1) of the report referenced above. This enclosure identifies the 11 atolls and 2 islands that were designated for inclusion in the 1978 Aerial The logistical aspects of obtaining the aerial survey data used to conduct this screening survey were coordinated by NV. The NV had no role, however, in the analysis of the data and the development of the data in Tab 8. Enclosure 2 is a Preface that describes the process by which this chart of the atolls and islands to be surveyed was determined. This Preface was never published as a part of any:survey report. It is provided to assist you in your understanding of how the study was conducted.
Page 2
It should be emphasized that the subject radiological survey was performed to better define the region receiving higher levels of fallout and to identify where additional sampling should be performed. The survey was never intended . to be a comprehensive analysis of fallout location throughout the entire region. The ongoing Republic of the Marshall Islands Nationwide Radiological Study being conducted by Dr. Steven Simon represents a far more exhaustive study, and should provide a more complete picture on the total extent of contamination throughout the area. We hope you will find this information useful.
Page 4
is not part of an atoll and does not have a lagoon.
The text continues in the original scan (5 pages).