180 RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAKATOLL (EG&G) Radiation and Environmental Data Acquisition and Recorder (REDAR)system overtheislands to perform a gross radiological survey before field surveys with the in situ vans began. The system was designed to detect and record surface radiation from americium-241 (Am-241). [f was believed thata REDAR survey might facilitate the in situ survey and possibly reduce the areas to be surveyed by the vans. The REDAR was installed on a UH-I helicopter during the week of 20 June 1977, Transponders were set up on Enewetak and Biken (Leroy) Islands, and the system was checkedout.” Survey flights were conducted during the next 2 weeks. Several passes were required to surveythe larger islands. A total of 35.6 hours were flown for the survey before it was completed on 8 July 1977.8 The survey was largely unsuccessful as REDAR did not have the sensitivity necessary to refine areas for in situ soil surveys. It was also thwarted by heavy vegetation covering large parts of many islands. Consequently, it was of little benefit in improving the 1973 radiological survey data. ERIE SITE SURVEY Runit (Yvonne) was the last island scheduled for contaminated soil survey and cleanup. The northern end of the island, which had been contaminated by many nuclear detonations, was to be used for contaminated soil and debris stockpiles and crater containmentoperations. The southern endofthe island, which was to be used for the quarry, rock crusher, and other support activities, was radiologically nonhazardous, with one possible exception. In May 1956, a nuclear device, Erie, had been detonated from a 300-foot tower near the ocean beach just north of the runway on the southern end of Runit. Experimental specimens had been scattered west of the tower at distances of 120 to 300 feet. In order to find the specimens, thesoil in that area had been removedto depthsup to 5 feet and deposited to the north in thin layers. The depression was later backfilled but pertinent reports did not indicate what had happened to the debris produced by the detonation. A 1958 drawing showed anarea of contaminated rubble some200feet wide from the Erie ground zero (GZ) to the ocean beach. By 1977, muchofthis land area had eroded away and contaminated debris was scattered on the beach. The 1973 radiological survey by the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC)listed a suspected contaminated debris burial site in the vicinity of the Erie GZ. This suspicion had to be resolved before work could begin to locate the rock crushing facility in the area.? A special team was deployed on 30 June 1977 to investigate the Erie Site. It consisted of two radiological specialists from Field Command, two be -- vane