de “SECREL Julius H. MAR ahe Rubin Ms (272 bw? Ambassador Williams and his staff are preparing a statement of position that will include the return of Eniwetok to its former residents, to be release publically about April 2. Because of the sensitivity of the Eniwetok situation, AEC has received approval to visit the atoll but is cautioned to be discrete in discussing the matter with Trust Territory or local officials. - Accordingly, AEC's expressed position regarding this trip will be in terms of involvement with the PACE pro- gram. . Even without the PACE experiments, Eniwetok presents a more difficult problem for cleanup and rehabilitation than Bikini. There were more nuclear tests at Eniwetok then Bikini. There were 35 announced plus 8 unannounced at Eniwetok versus 23 announced at Bikini. Among the 8 unannounced tests at Eniwetok was one safety test fired on land and two others giving zero yield, one at the water surface and the other on the surface of the reef. The levels of plutonium in soil at Eniwetok are known to be higher than at Bikini. Additionally, there are plutonium burial sites in the Eniwetok Atoll and DOD conducted two beryllium rocket tests on Engebi with’contamination of a portion of this island which is one of the largest in the atoll. The effort and cost for moni- toring and cleanup of contaminated scrap and soil at Eniwetok can be expected to exceed that for Bikini. A meeting has been scheduled with Ambassador Williams or his staff on March 16, 1972, to discuss tanis matter. At that time, our views will be asked on the April 2 s«-::-ont regarding the feasibility of the schedule for return of Eniweto! : ~itives. You may wish to bring this meeting to the Commission's at ........ particularly if Ambassador Williams will be present. Ambassac deputy has indicated the Ambassador's intent to request di: as was provided for bi -ssrt in survey and cleanup of Eniwetok ... a pierret stoned by ow ’ mse Crie’rruecee by Feit teks ela Martin B. Biles, Director Division of Operational Safety ee BIS” fr . Prxz3sT7 orel i, 7 whe Caste - : «