-5-

helicopter landed at the ballfield about 0945.

Word was

received that the child died about 1000 and the mission to
Kwajalein was scrubbed.
The weather turned sour about noon with heavy rain showers.
The aerial survey work was terminated shortly thereafter as
the signals from transponders became weak and unreliable.
Shore parties returned to the Wheeling about 1300, wet and
bpedraggied.
By radio the Magistrate indicated the Rongelap people would
be entering a three-day period of morning for the baby that
died that on the first day mostly the family of the child

would be involved, and if we planned to come ashore for a

closing meeting it should be today.
We kept to the assigned
schedule and arrived at the ball field mid-afternoon.
Some
of those that remained ashore plus much luggage was returned
to the Wheeling on this flight.
By all appearances, the closing
meeting went well but with a much smaller group of Rongelapese.
I counted 24 adults.
There were questions indicating considerable uncertainty about eating coconut crabs caught in the
atoll.
Enclosure 4 is a summary of this meeting and the

questions that were asked.

Following this meeting, the DOE

visitors including Dr. Grant plus the lady and her husband

and son that were to be taken to Kwajalein, returned to the

Wheeling.

The EG&G data were again reviewed.
The data collection effort
at Rongelap: Atoll was almost complete with one island in the
north yet to be surveyed and one other requiring some resurvey.

The preliminary information (there is still some calibration
work to be done) indicates that islands in the south including
Rongelap have external gamma levels of 3 to 6 uR per hour.
Islands in the north of the atoll have some locations as high
as 20 to 60 uR per hour.

After dinner and the evening planning session, Jan Naidu pro-

vided a copy of his report on work he and Evie Rongelap had
done on Rongelap Island to gather information of dietary habits
and preferences.
See Enclosure 5.
He estimates that with

current availability, imported foods count for 85% of the
current Rongelapese diet.

Select target paragraph3