DRAFT fallout. LASL.” "1 He recommendsanalyses of various substances, including plutonium, by , 11 Mar 54 MEDICAL RADIATION The AFSWPchief, with the concurrence of the JTF-7 commander, adds to the weapons effect program of Operation Castle project 4.1, "Study of Response of HumanBeings Exposed to Significant Beta and GammaRadiation dueto Fall-out from High Yield Weapons,” a study of the Marshallese exposed to fallout. The command designates CommanderE. P. Cronkite of the U.S. Navy as project officer.” 12 Mar 54 RADIATION As part of the fallout collection for Castle JTF-7 radiological survey parties send water and soil samples from 12 Marshall Islands atolls to the AEC New York operations office (NYOO) for analysis.” 15 Mar 54 CONGRESSIONAL RELATIONSHIP PLUTONIUM RADIATION WEAPONTESTING Joint Committee on Atomic Energy (CAE) members Sen. John O. Pastore (D- Rhode Island) and Rep. Chet Holifield (D-California) visit evacuees at Kwajalein Island and hold hearings on the radiation exposure from the Castle Bravo operation. Pastore and Holifield report that "some of the residents of the Islands received radiation exposures considerably in excess of the tolerances set for workers in atomic energy plants" but that, to date, scientific and medical testimony “seems to indicate that no permanentinjury will occur’ as a result of the excess exposure.” A military. report shortly after the detonation suggests that the Rongelap children’s white blood..ceil counts are lower than those of Beilis as a result of Castle Bravo. In testing urine of the affected Marshall Islanders, an unidentified (passibly ava LASL)scientist states,."This plutonium number you cannotdepend. on."” Gen.. Clarksgn decides that the remainder.of the. detonations. will be restricted to limited weather conditions under which it will.be safe to fire because Bravo showed what Ivy Mike did not: that high-yield detonations can release radioactivity with potential health hazards hundreds of miles away from ground Zero. Clarkson vows to "take every precaution to avoid danger during the course of future operations to other populated areas of the Pacific." Because of Castle Bravo he extends the dangerarea.” Mid-Mar 54 ADMINISTRATION RADIATION Upon determination of excessive radioactive fallout in Castle Bravo, the commander of JTF-7 requests assistance of the Department of Defense (DOD) and the AEC and asks for a medical team and a medical study of exposures. The Armed Forces Special Weapons Project (AFSWP) of the DOD and the AEC/DBM share responsibility for the organization of the initial medical team, which is formed by “experienced” personnel from the Naval Medical Research Institute (NMRI) and the D or “or wand em OFF ca Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory (NRDL) and directed by Eugene P. Cronkite, M.D., head, hematology division, NMRI, Bethesda, Maryland.’