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NEVADA OPERATIONS OF
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PLO. OK 14100
R. E. Hollingsworth
General Manager, HQ
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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 83!
ENIWETOK
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ATOMIC ENERGY COnM@ ssion
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During the past approximately one year, NV has become aware of,
os
and I have become increasingly concerned about, certain conditions
and activities at Eniwetok Atoll. My concern stems from three
facts:
|
;
a.
It has appeared probable that Eniwetok, which has not yet
had a Bikini-style radiological cleanup,
would soon be a
candidate for rehabilitation and return to the Marshallese.
Since mid-April 1972, this probability has become reality,
with a public commitment by the United States to return
Eniwetok to the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands by
the end of 1973.. (See Encl. 1).
.
{
b.
c.
It has been known, due to the nature of the testing which
was conducted at Enivetok, that cleanup and rehabilitation
when it did occur would be significantly more difficult and
more costly than had been similar activities at Bikini. It
was also suspected that increased environmental sensitivity
and-political and public visibility would be complicating
factors in an Eniwetok rehabilitation.
There were and are on-going activities of the Department of Defense and other public and private agencies which could
aggravate the known (and unknown) radiological problems and
which could subject their participants to unnecessary and
unacceptable radiological exposures.
The following is a chronology of recent NV actions pertaiining to
.
Eniwetok:
:
July 1971
+
8
NV and EPA participated with Air Force PACE
Program personnel in o preliminary site +:
selection visit to Enivetok. ‘The Aix Force