41 eed ' SRR, 2 ed f we . B "ess Department of Energy Washington, D.C. 20545 VY, £ - , A ty wi Ih Woy , A MY ' pe Ve Aetor 141g A Ruth C. Clusen, Assistant Secretary for Environment THRU: a 4 yr Robert J. Catlin, Dir., OECO INTERAGENCY MEETING ON RADIOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS OCTOBER 12, 1978 At the recent Department of the Interior, "Interagency Meeting on Radiological Problems in the Marshall Islands" which you attended with representatives of this Division, a number of substantive items were discussed. We believe it would be informative to enumerate these where commitments were made or where the items may be the subject of future discussions. The summary highlights of the speaker's presentations at the meeting are also enclosed for your information. The items 1. 2. are: The Northern Marshalls "13 Atoll" radiological survey now in progress will provide information in early January, 1979 on the question of whether any of these islands are unsafe to inhabit. It was so stated at the meeting. The comprehensive final dose assessment report will require nearly 2 years to complete. Radiation dose predictions based upon data from the garden plot on Eneu Island in Bikini Atoll, will be obtained through a separate research contract with the Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. These predictions were promised in the January-February 1979 time period. 3. Admiral Robert Monroe, DNA, urged resolution of the "coconut planting" problem in the Northern Islands of tne Enewetak Atoll. The response was that additional work on characterization of the radioactivity concentration in the soil of these islands, now being cleaned up by DNA, will be done by the contractors supplying the radiological support. Additional soil sampling at this time is not ‘considered necessary. The extensive data reported in NVO-140 and the radiological data obtained at Bikini Atoli are considered an adequate basis for making the recommendations for coconut planting in Enewetak. eee SITTER The High Commissioner of the Trust