fish was a wise one, There is reason to believe that contamination was confined to the surface of the fish anc occured when the racioactivo ssics fcoll anc. entercd the ships hold, With the Gccision cf the United States Food and Drug Administration to monitor inconinz shipments of tuna, the suippins companies operating cut of Japan initiated a requirement that the Japancse certify export sfipmonts as being free of radioactivity. When I arrived in Japan on March 22, the Japanese had already monitored their first outgoing shipment of frozen tuna, The Ministry of Welfare undertook to have ite sanitation inspectors trainec in the use of geiger countors anc began the routine inspection of both incoming and outgoing tuna at five ports, All vessels were instructed to return to one of theec ports, Fivo seiser counters were cbtainec fron the Far East Commanc ani . losned to the Japanese, In adéition, they mustorec approximatoly the same nunber from various sources in Japan, On March 24, at a conference with the Japanese Government officials, thor asked for my recommencation for maximum permissible contamination. They also aske¢ that I reccmmenc the kind of examination that shoulé be mace of the fish, Because of my unfamiliarity with the mechanical ceteails of hancling tuna shipments, I suesestcod that I be permitted to stucy tuna loading operations sche vlec for the following day, Thereupon it was arrangec that I snoul. accompany Japanese officials to Yokohema where tne Satan was being loade: witn frozen albacor, Tune shipments involve many fish ané it is not an casy mattor to monitor eroperly with inexperiencee personnel anc only a few survey inetrumonts. Bascc. on my inspection of the Batan, I sugcestcd that every tenth fish be monitored for about 1 minute by passins an open window GM probe over the surface of the fish, payinc particular attention to the cilis. I also instructed then to insert the probe into the mouth of the tuna ant into the abcominal incision throush the fish, There romaincé the question of criteria for rejection of fish founc to be contaminated. Again it is not a simplo matter to cvaluato the risk to 2 corsumer of tuna from measurcmonts made in this way, I informed tho Japanese thet I was unable to propose a realistic fizurc without sone stucy. On the other hané it wes my bolicf that significantly contaminated fish were not likely to be founé, Low level fall out to the skins of the fish was, of course, a possibility. This scemcc to be of little significance in view of cxistirfs cannory practices which strips the skins from tle fish when processing begins. I told the Japanese I woulc. be standing by in Tokyo, that they shoulc continuc to monitor tt fish by the rethoc I proposec, *nd tuat whon and if contaminato. fish were found I should be acvised anc siven the opportunity immodiately to make a first hané inspoction of tne fish, My recommendations woul: depend on what I found. Ko contaainatec tuna have dDvcen brought to my attention. Nowspapers heve occasionally reported incomin: shipments of contaminated fish but the Japanese had not requested that I make an exanination of then,