"Though there probably will be some measurable increase
in the radioactive body burden of the Bikinians after they
have returned and are
living on
the
atoll,
it will
be very
low and is not expected to cause any medical problems,” Dr.
Conard said,
Dr.
Conard has just returned from the Marshalls.
While
there he visited Kili Island where the former Bikinians now
live,
mar
and began his baseline studies on about half of the
first Bikinian work party wnich will be going back to
help rehabilitate the atoll.
The Bikinians are not expected to move back in large numbers for several years.
The Department of the Interior which is responsible
for the Marshall Islands, expects the full rehabilitation
of Bikini, including rebuilding the village and replanting
the coconut
groves,
to take about six years.
Cleanup of
the heavy undergrowth and radioactive scrap has begun already
under direction of the Department of Defense, Defense Atomic
Support Agency with assistance from the AEC and the Trust
Territory government.
5/1/69
(NOTE TO EDITORS AND CORRESPONDENTS:
Similar information
also is being issued by the Brookhaven National Laboratory,
Upton,
New York.)