146
RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL
DNA, in October 1976, had the markings repainted by its base support
Economy Act of 1932,!7 furnished Field Command the services of its
contractor, Holmes & Narver, Pacific Test Division (H&N-PTD) to
cleanup project.
atoll commander exercised operational control over H&N-PTD’s
engineering, repair, maintenance, and operations services, and established
work requirements by issuing base regulations, annual work orders, and
special work orders as required. Extension of this system to Enewetak
Atoll would provide effective, flexible contractor support for the cleanup
project. When the proposal! was discussed with the Director of ERDA’s
Pacific Area Support Office (PASO), Mr. William J. Stanley, in September
1975, it was learned that he too had considered and supported the
.
Other Enewetak Camp rehabilitation work which was accomplished by
POD contractors in 1975 and 1976 included: rehabilitation of the electrical
distribution system; repair of water storage tanks; and repair of the salt
water pump station.!5 These projects were beyond the capability of the
MATSCO base support work force. It appeared that, although POD
charged an overhead fee for its services, it would cost less to use POD’s
contractors to design and execute the work than to augment MATSCO’s
capability. These projects took more time and money than the
Commander, Field Command had anticipated; however, they vastly
improved the essential support systems that would be needed throughout
the entire project, and they provided Field Commandvaluable experience
regarding the engineering problems,the logistical difficulties, and the high
cost of working on the remote atoll of Enewetak.
|t
{
147
A more effective and less expensive means of providing contractor
support—by extending the Johnston Atoll support system to include
Enewetak Atoll—was proposed by Mr. David L. Wilson, of Field
Command. At Johnston Atoll, the Energy Research and Development
contractor.!3,!4 After these rehabilitation and repair efforts, the runway
handled heavytraffic, including C-5 cargo aircraft, for the duration of the
i
.
the repair project began. The center section of the 3,000 feet of runway was
replaced, depressed areas werefilled, a seal coat was applied, and airfield
markings were painted on the new surfaces. The repairs were highly
satisfactory with the exception of the markings. Within 4 months, the paint
was peeling in large flakes. This condition caused growing concern until
4
Mobilization
CHANGE OF CONCEPTS AND CONTRACTORS: 1975 - 1977
The original concept was for the Corps of Engineers to include base
camprehabilitation, maintenance and operation in the contract for cleanup
of the atoll. This concept had to be changed, however, based upon the
Congressional decision to make maximum use of military manpower to
accomplish and support the cleanup project. While much of the
rehabilitation, operations, and maintenance work could be performed by
military personnel, a number of jobs remained for which the military
services were not manned, since they were normally performed byctvil
service or contract labor. These would have to be performed by a base
support contractor at Enewetak Atoll. The existing MATSCOcontract was
suitable only for caretaker operations. A new contract was required to
upgrade iné Enewetak Camp Trom caretaker stalls ano tO provide Disc
support during the cleanup project. Field Commandattempted to develop
a new contract with sufficiently detailed specifications for competitive bid,
but which also was broad enoughto allow for the unidentifiable exigencies
which were sure to occur during the project.!6 It was a very difficult task,
and there was considerable doubt that a satisfactory contract could be
developed and awarded in time to support the project.
Administration’s Nevada Operations Office (ERDA-NV), under the
operate and maintain the Field Command base there. Field Command’s
concept.!3 A formal evaluation and economic analysis was conducted
whichindicated that a savings of $200,000 per year could be realized by not
entering into a separate Enewetak Atoll contract for the cleanup. One
civilian and two military man-years previously devoted to administering
the caretaker contract were to be saved. Also, adoption of the proposal
permitted reallocation of resources between the atolls to accomplish
priority tasks andfacilitated maximum utilization of DNA resources to
accomplish DNA missionsin the Pacific.!9-29 Use of H&N-PTD to design,
engineer, and accomplish major repair and rehabilitation projects at
Enewetak also resulted in significant savings over the use of POD
contractors for such projects. After several months of negotiation, the
proposal was approved for H&N-PTD to replace MATSCO as the
Enewetak Atoll support contractor effective | April 1976.2!
Preparations to upgrade Enewetak Camp from caretaker to standby
Status began in February 1976, when teams from Field Command and
H&N conducted a survey of equipment and facilities. During his 10
February 1975 visit to the atoll, Director, DNA, Licutenant General
Warren D. Johnson, USAF, had ordered a general cleanup of the camp,
including storage areas where unserviceable and serviceable exccss
material from the test period had been commingled and abandoned in
great disarray. This cleanup was accomplished by the two-man Field
tii
Rittenberry, USAF, in conjunction with their equipment survey. In a
period of 24 days, they cleaned out and put in order 42 buildings,
removing 170 dump truck loads of salvage and trash.22.23
The transition from MATSCO to H&N-PTD began in mid-March 1976
and, on | April 1976, H&N-PTD became the base support contractor for