326 September (Sunday)
At 0800, Greenhouse, Naidu and I left in the Boston Whaler to go to Aerik
and Yugui islands. Enroute, we had to change gas tanks and then had difficulty
restarting the motor. At the time it seemed that the battery was low, however
we found out several days later that the starter was malfunctioning. After
about an hour spent floating in the middle of the lagoon, the motor was restarted

and we returned to Eniaetok Island.

We sampled vegetation and soil, and took

Survey readings at several sites on Eniaetok. Rueter-Stokes readings in the
interior were consistently 12-13 uR/hr. Although there are five or six houses
and a school on this island, no people are presently living here. The astoundingly
high number of flies on this island made our few hours of stay very uncomfortable.

27 September (Monday)
Greenhouse, Naidu, and I went to Kabelle Island in the morning. This trip
took only 75 minutes on a very calm day.
I collected soil and vegetation at five
Sites, including sites sampled in 1974. Three coconut crabs, three Tridacna clams
and a sample of mullet were also taken on this island or from the lagoon.
’ Greenhouse and Naidu took survey readings at several sites, including four of
the soil sites. We returned to Rongelap Istand at 1600.

28 September (Tuesday)
Greenhouse and Naidu took Reuter-Stokes readings along the trail leading
from the church on Rongelap Island to the -nepan and-along the road running through.
the village.
I took soil samples.at eight sites along the trail from the church
to the ocean beach, and vegetation samples at three sites. The children from
_ the school observed us while we were sampling.
In the afternoon, I dug a soil pit in the area near the trail where LRE

personnel had taken samples in 1971 and 1974.

coconut tree that had been sampled in 1974.

I also sampled leaves from a

29 September (Wednesday)
From. 0900 to 1300, the BNL medical team, Greenhouse, Naidu and I met with
the Rongelap people to try to answer any questions they might have about the
medical program or the environmental survey. Greenhouse demonstrated the use
of some of the survey instruments. He discussed the radiation levels at Rongelap
Atoll and compared them to hazardous levels and to levels present in 1954. Jerry
Knight® translated. Both Greenhouse and Knight did a good job. The Rongelap people
were worried about the lead article in the 27 August 1976 Micronesian Independent
(Vol. 7, No. 29) which quoted Japanese doctors from the Japan Red Cross Nagasaki
Atomic Bomb Hospital and Nagasaki University who, after examining the AEC-BNL
treatment cards of the Rongelap and Utirik people exposed to fallout, stated that
the exposed people would contract blood diseases. Dr. Knudsen (BNL) told the
Rongelap people that he would try to determine why these doctors had made this
Statement.

*

Jerry Knight has been on Rongelap since 1973, studying the oral history of the
people as recorded in the chants, legends, etc., which only a few of the older
people remember. He is doing this on his own and is not associated with any
school.

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