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ENCLOSURE "c"
U. S, ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Washington 25, D. ¢.
No,
Tel.
1163
ST 3-8000
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ext. 307
(Sunday, September 15, 1957}
STATEMENT BY THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
AND THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
In the absence of a safeguarded disarmament agreement,
preparations are under way by the Atomic Energy Commission and
the Department of Defense for a series of nuclear tests to begin
in April, 1958, at the Eniwetok Proving Ground in the Pacific.
The United States repeatedly has stated its willingness to sus-~
pend nuclear tests as part of a disarmament agreement,
Until
such an agreement is attained, continued development of nuclear
weapons is essential to the defense of the United States and of
the Free World,
The forthcoming series will advance the development of
weapons for defense against aggression whether air-borne,
missile~borne or otherwise mounted,
Information on the effects
of weapons will be obtained for military and civilian defense
use,
Test operations will be governed by the declaration made
in the Bermuda Communique on March 24,
1957,
of the intention
of the United States "to conduct nuclear tests only in such
manner as will keep world radiation from rising to more than a
small fraction of the levels that might be hazardous."
An important objective of the tests will be the further
development of nuclear weapons with greatly reduced radioactive
fallout -so that radiation hazard may be restricted to the
military target. This principle was first proved in the Pacific
test series of 1956,
A United Nations agency will be invited to designate an
international group to observe one of the detonations involving
limited fallout and studies are under way to determine the
instrumentation which will facilitate their observation without
making disclosures which would compromise restricted weapon
information in violation of the Atomic Energy Act of 1954.
Observation by news media representatives will be provided for
in a manner to be announced later,
As in the past series, a control area surrounding the
proving grounds will be established to safeguard air and sea
traffic and will be defined weli in advance of the commencement
of operations.
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Enclosure "c"