—e ee ee RS-

The setting up of the heavy 21-ton steel

room. used during the early years for wnole
body counting, presented problems. It was
installed aboard ship at Enewetak. along witha
clothing change-room and shower room. and
connected to the ship's power supply. The peonie were brought to the ship by small boats.
Later, an arrangementof lead bricks (“shadow-shield") was substituted for the steel room
and set up permanently ashore along with a
clothing change and showerfacility. A generator was installed on the Islands to furnish
power for the examinations and for the operation of the whole body counter.
As more and more people from Rongelap
and Utirik gravitated to the District Centers at
Majuro and Ebeye (near Kwajalein Island),
more permanentfacilities were needed, so trailers were set up adjacent to the hospitals and
furnished for the examinations and laboratory
work.
Since 1972, we were fortunate in having
ships assigned to the medical teams. These vessels, though small, have adequate living facilities, and trailers installed on the cargo deck are
equipped for the examinations, while an area
below deck is used for the laboratory and x-ray
examinations. There have been four such vessels (Liktanur I, [I, and III and the G. W.
Pierce). The Rongelap and Utirik people are

broughtby boat to the ship anchored near the

"shore.Teavoid therishOftivel tyémialb boat,

thechildbenareevattined'inth

etrshed

‘ashore*" ihe aungers of avaidualfallout
auth:

At thieDisivichcaneaPatMafieand

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the RongelapSn4Utirik people living at these

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locations are brought in for examination.

Vessel assigned to the medical team for examinations, 1974.

2004170

5. Transportation
During the early years, transportation
from Hawaii to the Islands was by military prop
aircraft. With the advent of jet planes, travel to
the islands has been faster and more comfortable. Transportation in the Marshall Islands
has been a problem, since, until recently, the
only way was by ship except for a time when the
Navy at Kwajalein helped by flying someof the
team to Rongelap and Utirik by seaplanes. In
1958 and 1959 the Navy furnished LSTs that
were beached at Rongelap and Utirik and the
medical team lived aboard. Subsequently, we
relied on Trust Territory cargo ships to get to
the OuterIslands.
On arrival at the Islands, getting ashore
was by smail boat or by outrigger canoe. When
the examinations were done ashore, it was difficult to get the heavy boxes of medical equipment and supplies ashore. Therefore,the later

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and supplies for medical survey, 1966.

Trust territory vessel stranded on reef after

departure from Rongelap, 1972.

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