2.3.2 following Ground way. accumulates in Rain the Water. water underlying Ground drains water through porous rock and accumulates the permeable sand matrix as in the soil and a roughly lens-shaped body of fresh water, floating on the denser salt water. Mast of the fresh water is rapidly mixed with the underlying salt water by wave and tidal central activity, leaving only a very thin fresh layer, portion of the island. The smaller the mixing occurs; hence the smaller the usually in the island, the more rapidly freshwater body. water is thought to exist on the smaller islands. No potable In the Marshall ground Islands, the chloride standard for potable water has been set at 400 mg/l compared to 250 mg/l in the U.S. During the summer drought of 1984, four of seven wells on Bikini were dry and none had potable water. the Federal Appendices standards None of the wells has met for cesium-137 or strontium-90 A and B). Two of four wells on (Table 4) Eneu were (12, and functional and had potable water; the quantities observed could have met the needs of 200-250 persons with careful use (Appendix A). These wells were located close to the runway. It initiated to studies should is estimate include therefore the potential the aerial, recommended for ground vertical and that detailed water studies development. seasonal changes in be The both salinity and radioactivity. On contaminated layer of Bikini, soil in removal presumably radioactivity in ground water. rooting zone and the of “the would uppermost, materially heavily reduce’ the We note that the cesium-137 levels in the ground water on Bikini are both more than 10 times those of Eneu. On treatment Yevel (Section the other 4.4) would in ground water. not hand, potassium-fertilizer be expected to the cesium-137 Whether or not it would increase the level would be checked in the pilot trials recommended for next year. 2000021 reduce blockade 22 ,