rt BIKINI RESETTLEMENT PROGRAM ath Ppreese: On August 12, 1968, President Johnson announced that certain islands in Bikini atoll in the Marshall Islands, Trust Territory of the Pacific, were no longer required for the nation's nuclear testing program or for defense otha purposes and that they were safe for return to civilian uses. He called upon various interested government agencies to cooperate in the preparation and implementation of a redevelopment and resettlement program. This anrmouncement culminated a prolonged period of radiological and * pe 5 i ad iar5 7 ee Te a a! ea arn ore oS Ree 3° are : se . * biological murveys by the Atomic Energy Commission and a specific 1967 study to determine whether the islands in the atoll were safe for human habitation, The President's announcement was based upon a finding that exposure to radiation that would likely result from repatriation of the Bikini people does not offer a significant threat to their health and safety and that these exposures may and should be reduced by taking certain simple precautions.. | Ever since Bikini was acquired by the U.S. Navy in 1946 and the persons then living on the atoll, about 150 people, were relocated ultimately on the island of Kill, the displaced Bikini people have been looking forward hopefully te the time when they could return to their home islands, The Bikini population now living on Kili amounts to about 350persons and an additional 260 people claim land rights on Bikini. Kili lacks a@ lagoon and in other respects has not provided the Bikini people with the economic | environment or resources they desire or to which they were accustomed when living on Bikini.