The alpha contamination of the Bikini
been re-evaluated.
target area
has
Ether extractions from a 9=- normal nitric
acid solution of Halimeda collected at Bikini during August of
1949 and counted during August of 1951 ranged from 58.2 to
820 d/m/g with the average count of 378 d/m/g for the sixteen
samples counted.
At Eniwetok both terrestrial
and aquatic
were contaminated by the detonation of seven
(7)
environments
atomic bombs.
The problems are complex but still very usable in studying the
over-all effects of residual radiation upon living forms.
The
surveys of the fauna and flora of Eniwetok during the summers
of 1948 and 1949 provided data on the amount of biotic contami-
nation and on some of the more obvious effects such as the mortalities observed in birds,
fishes, and invertebrate animals in
the fallout area, mutations in plants
on the shot islands,
apparent calcium deficiencies occurring in plants growing on
mountains of calcium, plant tumors, etc.
only the more conspicuous ones,
These observations are
for the complete story
can be
written only after continuous observation by a number of specialists over a period of years.
Eniwetok at the present
time has
material to warrant continued study.
sufficient radioactive
Samples of the soil
from