ye een Fa Maas?Bye = ¥s" Figure 36. Scrubbing to remove radioactivity before suit removal, CASTLE. Ainsworth provided the most effective solution for controlling shipboard contamination. ' Naval Vessel Decontamination BRAVO created a mass naval decontamination operation, since this event contaminated ships before the washdown systems were turned on. All vessels anchored in the lagoon required decontamination, and a vigorous washdown of top surfaces by means of firehoses was initiated shortly after fallout ceased (Pigure 37). This action removed about 80 percent of the contami- nation, except for the wooden flight deck of the Bairoko. Despite the cleanup efforts, contamination from BRAVO caused background levels aboard ship and on the islands of Bikini to exceed established permissible contamination levels; therefore, emergency personnel levels and equipment release levels were increased to 0.015 R/hr Small boats (LCMs and LCTs) (Reference 16, p. 57). that were left in the Eneu anchorage be- came heavily contaminated, requiring strong hosing with water and a mixture of boiler compound and lye. These caustics were normally used to 149