OFFICIAL USE ONLY
be made using results of analysis of frond from young trees, years
before these trees produce coconuts.
An indication of the significance cf radioactivity in coconut meat
can be seen by reviewing the production and use of copra.
The natives
harvest the coconuts which have taken about a year to mature and extract the coconut meat from the shell and husk.
The shells are some-
times used ty the natives for eating utensils and such shells may find
their way into commerce in the form of charcoal.
Husks are used
in
cooking fires and as a mulch in planting crops including coconut trees,
Cord and rope are also made from husk fiber.
Sleeping mats sre made
from coconut paln frond along with other items of handicraft such as
hats and handbags.
The "Kili Bag," which is a handbag manufactured by
the Bikinians, is made from palm frond and Pandanus leaf and is widely
known in the Pacific.
Pieces of coconut meat are sun dried, vagged, and stored under cover
(warehouse) until picked up by a copra boat which may visit an Atoll two
or three times a year.
Collection of 25 to 504 of a years copra production
in a warehouse would accimnulate a sizable quantity of 1315 at the 1969
levels.
Fresh coconut meat is about 507, water, 30-40% oil, and 10-20%
copra meal by weisht.
OFFICIAL USE ONLY
SOE PROT me ge