Plannin§ and Programming 65 unfinished memos lay on the desks in some buildings, while landing craft sat rusting where they had been pulled from the water. Everywhere, nature in the form of impenetrable brush, termite burrows, rot, and rust was reclaiming the atoll from the ruins of an advanced rechnology.©:78 What many had not believed when the nuclear test moratorium began in 1958 was an obvious fact in 1972—nuclear weapons Atoll. — resting had ended at Enewetak Nuclear testing had left its unmistakable mark. The preliminary radiological survey found potentially significant radiation hazards on the and Runit islands of Bokombako (Belle), Enjebi (Janet), Aomon (Sally), (Yvonne). More detailed surveys would be required to identify locations and to determine degrees of contamination. More study and planning would be necessary to develop removal and disposal procedures for the contaminated soil and debris.? PACIFIC CRATERING EXPERIMENT: 1971 - 1972 Preparation for PACE had been underwayat Enewetak for almost a year prior to AEC’s preliminary radiological survey in May 1972. PACE wasa DNA-funded program conducted by the U.S. Air Force Weapons Laboratory (AFWL) at Enewetak Atoll from June 197I to October 1972. The program had twobasic objectives: (1) PACE I, to define the geology, geophysics, and material properties of the near subsurface (0-100m depth) of the atoll rim; and (2) PACE II, to conducta series of high explosive cratering experiments, ranging from 1,000 pounds to 500 tons, to establish nuclear explosive/high explosive equivalence for cratering and ground motions.!0 The PACE operations were preceded by two separate radiological surveys, neither of which indicated any serious hazards, and they were supported by a radiological safety program.!! Measurements during the PACE program indicated no significant radiation hazard, no need to decontaminate equipment, and no requirement for radiological protective clothing or equipment. Nevertheless, bioassay samples were taken as an added precaution, and none showed any indication of plutonium uptake. !2,13 AFWLpersonnel drilled the first test hole in the rim of the Cactus Crater on Runit on 30 September 197]. They continued drilling holes and digging trenches on Runit for the next 8 months before the preliminary AEC radialogical survey began in May 1972. During the same period, researchers from the Enewetak Marine Biological Laboratory (EMBL), an AEC contractor, were camped on the Cactus Crater rim and conducting biological surveys around Runit using no special protective clothing.