In

part on

general

grounds,

results at Enewetak Atoll, a U.S.
(1972-1980)
successful

and

(13),

doubts

have

agriculture at

part owing

government operation

been

Bikini

in

expressed

after topsoil

about

to

in

the

removal

the

variable

the Marshalls
possibility of

(Appendices

A,

8B,

E),
We note,

however,

that the Majuro causeway built of lagoon

sediment has spontaneously revegetated itself.
sandbars and typhoon-eroded

islands

Scrub revegetation of new

is commonplace.

At Enewetak where in

certain areas the land had been cleared and in some locations
difficulties might stem from the compaction of the soil

paved,

the

by previous heavy-

duty usage and by the heavy clean-up earth moving machinery employed.
any case, we recommend that a pilot trial
deal

with the effects on

be executed on Bikini

productivity of soil

In

that will

compaction and. exposure to

wind.
4.3.2
spoil

are

Disposal

the

lagoon,

an

of Spoil.

Four locations for the disposal

unoccupied

island,

construction, and the oceanward side of Bikini.
international,

regulate

disposal.

With

the

site

of

of

causeway

Various laws, national and

respect

to

ocean

dumping,

the

situation is so complex and uncertain that the option is precluded. (29N).
(a)
would cost a total

The lagoon-disposal

of $36 million.

alternative

for

To immobilize the spoil

Bikini

Island

by bagging it

before disposal would increase the cost by about $12 million.
The best location in the lagoon would be the Bravo

crater (73 m deep; volume, 16 million m?),
minimal

because

tte

crater

is

"dead",

The ecological consequences are
and

the

more

or

less

‘monthly

replacement of lagoon water tends to prevent the accumulation of turbidity
and dissolved contaminants (Appendices A, E).
view, such dumping would be a simple operation.

9000032

34

From an engineering point of

Select target paragraph3