UNIQUE DOCUME eC rin COW PEOOS THE SECRETARY OF THE NAVY WASHINGTON . AGAASS President Robert Gordon Sproul University of California ‘ N Velo? 2 JUN 1947 Berkeley 4, California a R_ Dear President Spreul: The Ravy Department, in cooperation with the War Department and the Atomic Energy Commission, ie preparing to send an expedition to Bikini Atoll in the nesr future to investigate any possible long term effects of the atom bomb explosions conducted last sumner on the organiens, the reefs “or the felands of the Atoll. _. Soientists of the U.8. Geologi- BEST COPY AVAILABLE Cel Survey, the Fish and Wild Life Service, the National . Museun, the University of Washington, Stanford Univereity, and the Serippa Institution of Oceanography will participate in the expedition. It is heped to carry ont a thoroughgoing investigation of several aspects of the biology and geology — of this interesting and little known region. It is planned that the expedition will leave San Diego abovt the first of July and will be at Bikini for six weeks starting 15 July. Radiological measurements made a few weeks after the underwater burst last summer showed that very large amoun' of radioactive materials had been accumulated by marine plents growing on the reef. These plents form the baeio food supply for the fish and marine invertebrates of the atoll; these animals aleo were found to be heavily contaminated. Available evidence suggests that considerable amounts of radioactive materials are still present. Presumably, sufficient time has now @lapsed to bring about at least partial nonditions of equilibrium which may make possible quantitative studies of the processes involved in transfer and accumulation of radioactive substances from water and sediment to the plants and hence to the animals. Such studies may be of great importance in future planning for atomic defense. Moreover, the unusual physiology and environmental conditions of both the land and the marine plants of the atoll, sombined with the presence of radioactive tracer substances in relatively large amounts, may make posaible a unique contribution to basic problems of plant ‘ putrition. In order to insure the attainment of these important objectives radiochemical investigations must be undertaken under the leadership ef scientists competent to deal both with the chemistry of radioactive fissionproductsend withproblems SIRGLE REV: PARTI: GLE REV UT REVIEWS por ‘ ’ NAME: DATE: DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY DECLASSIFICATION REVIEW REVIEW-DATE: DETERMINATION [CIRCLE NUMBER(S)} 97 1, CLASSIFICATION RETAINED NAME {40 'W-DATE: PaO REVIEW-DATES sspeec——ae LOBTHORITY; ADD : NAME: 2, CLASSIFICATION CHANGED TO: 3.CONTAINS NO DOE CLASSIFIED INFO COORDINATE WITH: / CLASSIFICATION CA CLASSIFIED INFOQ BRACKETED ne | 7. OTHER (SPECIFY): chp SYSAste 171s leg