contamination of the Atoll. It addresses the origins of the corftamination

on a shot-by-shot basis; the types, concentrations, and l@cations of
contamination prior to the cleanup; the radiological cleanup dabisions and
their rationale: the cleanup processes themselves, and th resulting
radiological situation, island-by-island. It is believed that this fype of data
will be useful over the coming decades as living patterns off the Atoll
change, new radiological surveys are taken, improved heafth physics
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For 8 years, from 1972 until 1980, the United States planned ahd carried
out the radiological cleanup, rehabilitation, and resettlement offEnewetak
Atoll in the Marshall Islands. This project represented the fulfillment of a
long-standing moral commitment to the People of Enewetak. The cleanup
itself, executed by the Department of Defense (DOD), was anfextensive
effort, involving a Joint Task Force staff and numerous Army, Navy, and
Air Force units and personnel. The rehabilitation and resettlemant project,
carried out by the Department of the Interior concurrently with the
cleanup, added complexity to the task and required tlie closest
coordination — as did the important involvement of the Depgrtment of
Energy (DOE), responsible for radiological characterization and
certification. The combinedeffort cost about $100 million and required an
on-atoll task force numbering almost 1,000 people for 3 years,J1977-1980.
No radiological cleanup operation of this scope and complexitf has ever
before been attempted by the United States.
This documentary records, from the perspective of POD, the
background, decisions, actions, and results of this major national and
international effort. Every attempt has been made to recordissfes as they
developed, and to show the results, good and bad. of specificjdecisions,
oversights, etc. Because this documentary may have cdnsiderable
importance in the future, and because specific needs for datafcannot be
foreseen with accuracy, every attempt has been made to recofd in some
detail all major facets of the operation and to reference key qocuments.
Throughout the research, collection, and writing, four majdr types of
potential users have been kept in mind. The documentaryis designed:
— First, to provide a historical document which records wifh accuracy
this major event in the history of Enewetak Atoll, the Marshbil Islands,
the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Micronesia, the Pafific Basin,
and the United States. To serve this end, the documentary addresses
political, legal, administrative, and social issues; and it attemptg to put the
cleanup in perspective in terms of the prior history of Enewpetak Atoll,
World War II, the nuclear testing period, and the Unitdd Nations
Trusteeship.
— Second, to provide a definitive record of the rbdiological

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FOREWORD

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