oa Watney

units of the Surface Security Unit.

These atolls were also surveyed and

resurveyed in order to establish the degree of contamination, and to establish how the fallout may have been taken up in the food chain by plants
and animals.

This required several returns to the atolls, which were still

radiologically hot enough to require that shore parties be badged.

These

activities are summarized in Table 66.

Table 66.

Dates

CASTLE evacuation and resurvey activities, March-April 1954.

Ship

Activity

Location(s)

3 Mar

Phili
DDE-498)

Evacuation

Rongelap and Ailinginae atolls

4 Mar

Renshaw

Evacuation

Utirik Atoll

5-8 Mar

Renshaw

Resurvey

8-12 Mar

Nicholas
(DDE-449)

Resurvey

(DDE-499)
(DDE-499)

.

6 March:

Likiep, Jemo Island, and

Ailuk Atoll; 7 March:

9 March: Utirik and Aon Islands at
Utirik Atoll, and Bikar Island at

Bikar Atoll; 10 March: Enewetak Island
Island at Rongerik Atoll, and Ailingi-

nae Atoll; 11 March:
Tap Atol]
25-26 Mar
21-23 Apr
Source:

~

Nicholas
(DDE-449)

Resurvey

Rongelap Atoll

Phili

Resurvey

21-23 April:

CDDE-98)

Mejit Island

23 April:

northern Ronge-

Rongelap Atoll;

Ailinginae Atoll]

Reference 16, Appendix H.

Rongerik remained too radioactive for continuous occupancy after BRAVO
and required evacuation because of the contamination of the weather station and the Project 6.6 station there.

However, because JTF 7 still

required weather information from this station, it was operated intermittently to make daylight soundings before shots ROMEO and KOON by personnel
flown in and out by seaplane.

For shots UNION and YANKEE, personnel were

348

Select target paragraph3