A WISE RESOLUTION OF THE PU-CONTAMINATED LANDS PROBLEM IN CERTAIN PARTS OF NTS MAY BE TO ISOLATE AND MAINTAIN THEM WITHOUT FURTHER DISTURBANCES : A POSITION PAPER William A. Rhoads EG&G, Inc. Santa Barbara Operations Goleta, California Editor's note: Although this paper was not part of the NAEG workshop discussions, the thoughts expressed by Dr. Rhoads result from his participation in NAEG activities and are included as his position statement. Readers are also referred to the views expressed by Wallace and Romney, "Feasibility and Alternate Procedures for Decontamination and Post-Treatment Management of Pu-Contaminated Areas in Nevada," in Report NVO-153, 1975, The Radtoecology of Plutontum and Other Transuranics in Desert Environments (White and Dunaway, Eds.). INTRODUCTION There are a number of areas of limited extent on, or adjacent to, the Nevada Test Site (NTS) which have been contaminated with the radioactive element plutonium. In most cases, these areas have resulted from tests of Pu-containing nuclear devices for safe storage and handling as an essential part of the national defense. In most cases, also, scattering of Pu was caused by chemical high 165