MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT:

1,

CJTF SEVEN

,

10 March 1954

Report on ~Soil and Water Sampling Mission

In compliance with your oral instructions, tho undersigned visited %

Erikub, Maloclap, Wotho, Majuro Atolls in the Marshall Islands 5 through 7 Mai
1954 for the purpose of obtaining carth and drinking water samples, and of moz
ing gamma ray dose rates, and also checked the radiological condition of the £
ROQUE on its arrival at Majuro 7 March 195k,

2. The first four atolls wore visited by Marshallese interpreter Takushi
and the writer by means of an UF-1 amphibious aircraft, Majuro was reached by
C-47. Erikub might have been omitted sinco it was not inhabited, boing proper
of the Wotje tribe which gocs thero only occasionally to gather copra. (This

unimown until aftor the visit. )

3. At cach atoll, oly the principal inhabited island was visited, At c
visited island an cffort was made to compose a reprosentativo soil avcrago by
collecting into a single containor scvcral samples, cach approximatcly one squ
foot of aroa and one inch depth, Water samples wore collected from the princi

sourees currontly in‘uso,

" arcasSe

Tho gamma doso ratcs aro avoregos for the inhabited

—

.

.

-

8

4. With regard to certain minor discrepancies betwoen the survey methods
by Major R. D. Crea and tho writcr; it was originally plannod to perform the =
jointly, and when it becamo advisable to scparato and survey different atolls,
time remainod for discussion of details of techniques,

5. Gamma-ray dose rates on Wotje and on Erikub aro cach the average ‘of Mw
and AN/PDR-39 average readings which agreed reasonably woll, Tho MX-5 was renc
inoperative when the rubber life raft was Swamped by surf onthe first attompt
“~~~ -- Jaunch from the beach at Erikub, Following tho Wotho survoy, the PDR-39 develk
a temperature—dependent reading of 0,4 — 2 orfhr, so that later readings in th:
range are of very dubious reliability.
a

6.

Tho following tabulation summarizes the atoll survoy. s is Soil, W i:

Water Samples

ATOLL

ISLAND

DATE

TOE

WORSE |

ORMED

5 Mar

1600 SS

ERIKUB ©

|
ERIKUB

5 Mar

1715

‘SAMPLE NO
.

W6
86

MR/HR & SAMPLING

3.5 orfhr, l-beach, 3-mid-vi
age, 1~back village.

" 4 well plus 4 catch basin,
“1.5 o/hr.

1-mid-village,

on path to boach.

No inhat

ants, no water supply foun

THiS POCLLPT CONSISTS OF_<2?PAGE(S]

E
o_oor £2Cores, SR

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