The soils/radiation survey was conducted over a period of eight weeks by roughly 18 people on an atoll of 43 islands. These islands ranged from tiny bare sandbars to large (3l-acre) densely vegetated islands infested with wases and spiders. With the exception of FRED (Eniwetok Island), the islands of the Atoll were accessible only by bor. usable personnel piers: Only five of the islands had FRED, ELMER, DAVID, YVONNE, and URSULA. All other islands had to be landed unon using a smali rubber dinghy or amphibious craft, when possible. Depending on the weather, tides and location on the Atoll, these landings had to be effected in Force } (11-16 kt) trade winds through surf of various conditions onto sandy beaches or rugged coral reefs. These access conditions had considerable impact on what instrumentation could be utilized and the handling of the soil samples collected. Vegetation on the islands ranged from none on small sandbars to sparse on several islands to very dense on most of the islands to be surveyed. It seemed that the vegetation was most dense and thus nearly impenetrable on those islands which had been swept clean or most seriously affected by the nuclear testing program. This vegetation, of course, had its effect on the survey effort. “The survey parties had to cut into the dense jungle to reach sample locations, clear areas to effect collections and to locate themselves with sufficient precision to carry out the random selection aspects of the program. The samples were taken from a wide range of soil conditions. Everything was experienced from soft coral sand to rough coral aggregates. These, in turn, were interlaced by vegetation roots and scrap metal junk. The very real possibility of encountering unexpected World War II ordnance was a constant threat on several islands, particularly JANET, where a U. S. Army EOD team assisted in the soils collection effort. ee /