Office of Public Affairs
Washington, D.C. 2046+
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AUGUST 1, 1978
AERIAL RADIATION SURVEY OF MARSHALL ISLANDS
SCHEDULED TO BEGIN THIS FALL
An aerial radiation survey of 11 atolls and two
islands in the northern Marshall Islands will be conducted between mid-September and mid-December by the
Department of Energy (DOE).

The Department of the Interior is funding the survey,

and the Department of Defense is providing air and sea
support.

Atolls

to be

surveyed

are Ailinginae,

Ailuk,

Bikar,

Bikini, Likiep, Rongelap, Rongerik, Taka, Ujelang, Utirik,
and Wotho.
The separate islands (not part of an atoll)
are Jemo and Mejit.
The survey project will help determine what hazards
may remain from nuclear testing performed in the Marshalls
during the 1940s and 1950s.
Also, it will help identify
islands where some radiological problems may still exist.
As the first phase of the survey, a preliminary
aerial photography mission got underway last week.
The
photographs, taken from a specially-equipped Navy aircraft, will provide accurate maps of the Marshalls for
project scientists.
The Marshalls are part of the United States Trust
Territories of the Pacific Islands under a United Nations
Trusteeship agreement.
The Department of the Interior
administers the trusteeship agreement.
DOE is providing
the technical staff and equipment to conduct the radiation, survey.

The most advanced systems for detecting radioactivity

will be used for the survey. The equipment and techniques, including helicopter-mounted radiation measuring
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