ber 1978, a church-sponsored conference in Ponape, in the trust ter- ritory, brought together representatives from around the Pacific to discuss nuclear issues and to call for a nuclear-free Pacific. There is little differentiation within the Pacific community between nuclear weapons, nuclear wastes, and nuclear-powered vessels. Several Pacific ports are closed to nuclear-powered vessels and the United States has even had difliculty in scheduling port visits in New Zealand and Australia, ANZUSallies in the Pacific. The situation in the Americanowned areas is compounded by the continuing unresolved situation of the peoples of Bikini and Enewetak Atolls. , General statements of where the United States or other countries ‘are looking or not looking for nuclear waste storage sites are not likely to allay-the very real concerns of the Pacific community. In meetings with the Department of Energy and the Department of State on this program, the committee questioned the continued need for secrecy over the potential sites and the nature and Status of the proposals, co | CO | fa nn a Despite the expressions of concern from the committee, the State Department would only state formally that:.“The sites currently underconsideration are undisputed U.S. territories, either uninhabited or having no indigenous population, and do not involve any location in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.” Whatever benefit that statement might have is dissipated by the word “currently.” In addition, since there are uninhabited islands in the Northern Marianas, Samoa, the Aleutians, and Hawali, the State Department response did little to quiet the fears in the Pacific. Articles and editorials began to appear, as anticipated, in Guam as well as Australia and otherareas. Although S. 1119 was drafted when the original Post article appeared, introduction was delayed as a, result of the briefings. From the briefings by the Departments of State and Energy, together with the materials submitted by the Department of nergy, it appeared that the preliminary sites evaluation was virtually complete. The sites under consideration, although obviously subject to the general concerns of the Pacific community over any nuclear storage proposal in the Pacific, approve to avoid the majorprotests likely to accompany proposals at other potential sites. On May 3 the Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and Inter- national Environmental and Scientific Affairs wrote to Senator Jackson notifying him that additional investigations would be undertaken. Thesites included in these investigations seemed to confirm someof the site-specific concerns raised ‘by the committee. In addition, when asked whether he was aware of the new investigations, the Under Secretary of the Interior responded that he wasnot. No Seii grams in the Pacific are a fear of even the presence of nuclearpowered vessels, much less the storage of nuclear wastes on some “inhabited” island, and a general distrust of the intentions of the nuclear powers in the area. The French nucleartests at Mururoa and Hao Atolls have resulted in continued angry reactions ‘both locally and among representutives to the South Pacific Conference. In Octo- er ee hh eee woos eee Among the legacies of the American and French nuclear test pro- Oe oR Rete a adi gh ee an oe SeRa ah reEE varnat gE hk i Mee St eo C