PROPOSAL TO PROVIDE INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC ASSESSMENT THE RADIOLOGICAL RISK OF RESETTLING OF ENEU AND BIKINI ISLANDS BACKGROUND Bikini Atoll is a chain of 26 islands with a combined land area of 2.32 square miles, surrounding a lagoon of approximately 243 square miles. Bikini is the largest of the atoll’s islands and covers 0.66 square miles. The atoll is one of 29 atolls and 5 islands comprising the Marshall Islands, which are spread over 357,000 square miles in the central Pacific Ocean. In January, 1946, the Joint Chiefs selected Bikini Atoll as the site to conduct a series of nuclear tests in a program known as “Operation Crossroads.” The Bikini people were evacuated to Rongerik Atoll, 140 miles in March of the same year. base at Kwajalein, east of Bikini Two years later they were moved to the U.S. military and then to the island of Kili, where most Bikinians continue to live today. Between 1946 and 1958, the Bikini atoll was the site for 23 nuclear tests. Ever since the Bikinians were moved off their atoll in 1946, the people have looked forward to returning to their homeland at such time when it was no longer needed. Clearly their wish to return to their native home is balanced by their desire for ph:ysical safety and health for themselves Their experience in dealing with the U.S. government cautious and distrustful. and their progeny. has led them to become Now instead of accepting without question the