401688 UNITED STATES ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20545 SEP 29 1976 Mahion E. Gates, Manager Nevada Operations Office AIR SAMPLING IN THE MARSHALL ISLANDS This is in response to your memorandum of August 26, 1976, about air sampling on Enewetak and Bikini Atolls. We share your concern about the need for additional air sampling data for both atolls and the special needs at Bikini. We appreciate the ground work that NV has done with LLL which defines the type of program that should be conducted as part of the Enewetak cleanup and urge you to continue pursuing this with LLL and DNA, As for the special problems at Bikini, SSC has asked Brookhaven Laboratory to include air sampling as part of this environmental survelllance program, Since many of the logistics problems have already been solved, it seems more efficient to add this task to the BNL program. The team that is now in the Pacific is exploring ways and means for making measurements of airborne plutonium, including enlisting the aid of local inhabitants to assist in the sample collection, BNL will fully coordinate their sampling procedures, data analyses, with NV and LLL, and assure that the data are incorporated in the analysis of the environmental surveillance program as well as the medical studies under Dr. Conard. I appreciate your calling this matter to our attention and your assistance and cooperation in this program. K Ow Oe t_~ Martin B. Biles, Director Division of Safety, Standards, and Compliance went B} yl We <Taevie LEDeomemrex Toten ce: W. W. Burr, BER R. Ray, NV N. Greenhouse, BNL 4 a__?~_pri a: OA OPNeecme ve