ae _ Chapter VIII — The Displaced Bikinians anchor. Useof the atoll required the evacuation of the residents. In early 1946, representatives of the Navy met with the 166 people livmg on Bikini, and explained the importance ofthetest -for U.S. national security. They weretold that, in agreeing, they would contribute to warid peace. The magistrate met with his island council and, after much discussion, they agreed to the request. There is little doubt that their acquiescence was influenced by their impression of the immensity of the U.S. military might in ousting Japan from the islands. The people and the Navalofficials believed that their exile would not be long, and that they wouldmove back when the test was completed. There were few suitable locations to which the people could be moved. Rongerik Atoll was . finally chosen because it was not far away (a little over 100 miles east of Bikini) and many of the Bikinians were related to the Rongelap people-who ownedRongerikAtoll(B3233.77). In . Maretr 1948; theNavy indvedthe BAthdénis« withtheir belospitigs te RenperiRswhere‘the SEABEEShad constructed € temrsbraty-sillkge. The people attemptedto ‘settlethereBeethis atoll provedto:bed‘poor choice! The land area and the lagoon were only ohe«third that‘of | '-« Bikini. The local foods were insufficiest, and the amount of marinelife less than that available at Bikini. Consequently, there began a long series of requests to be moved back to Bikini. A naval officer visiting the island found that the people were malnourished and theisland’s resources inadequate. Therefore, in 1948, the Bikinians were moved to a tent city at Kwajalein, where they lived for eight months. Anotherlocation had to be found for them.Kili Island, several hundred miles to the south, was the only othersite available. The island had for- merly been used by the Germansfor producing copra, and was quite verdant, with abundant rainfall. However, there were several! overrid- ing disadvantages. The island was small, only one-seventh the land mass of Bikini. There was SOCulgu no lagoon for fishing or anchorage, and rough seas made access to the island impossible much _ of the year. Fishing was very difficult. When the people movedto Kili, they found the environment alien and had difficulty in adapting to it. In the years that followed, several devastating typhoons wreaked havoc on some of the southern atolls and oneof the large vessels used by the Bikiniansfor fishing and traveling to otherislands was sunk (B-33). At times, food shortages required that the Trust Territory Government provide supplies. Some people moved to nearby Jaluit Atoll to live, and some moved to the District centers at Majure and Ebeye to work. ‘In 1956, the U.S. Governmentprovided the Bikini people with a $300,000 trust fund, which helped relieve their economic distress. The people continuedto press their request for a return to Bikini. In 1966, the Department of Interior requested the AECto consider this possibility. The AEC sponsored a radiological survey of the Bikini environmentin 1967 to determine if the island was safe for habitation (A-46-48). The survey showedthat the principal radioactive elements present were cesium (47Cg), strontium (*°Sr),and slight amounts of otherclementa: ineiuding: plutonium Whereas radipactive-consarhinationm onRongelap-andi Utirik wasfairly: unifétmthecontathination. at: Bilcini: masquite:vaeriabld due to contamination. from.the atomic teats. Im1966. theAEC com. * venedan Ad.boc Committae,.ofwhich-I:wasa member, to determine the radiologica}safety of Bikini Atoll for habitation (B-72). We decided that the two main isiands, Eneu and Bikini, were safe, provided that certain measuresrecommended to reduce exposure were taken. These measures included habiting of Eneu first; covering the housingsites on Bikini with coral rock, as is the custom; removing scrap metal; reducing the land-crab population; removing top soil from planting sites on Bikini; and sup- plementing of powdered milk to the diet to reduce the possibility of radioactive strontium uptake. The estimated doses to the people who would live on Bikini were so low that medical surveillance was not considered necessary. Nevertheless, the Committee recommended that the inhabitants be monitoredregularly to 33 ee In 1946 Bikini Atoil was chosen asthe site of the first atomic test, Operation Crossroads, in the Pacific that was designed to test the effects of atomic weapons on navai vessels. The atoll was chosen becauseofits relative isolation, and the large lagoon where navai vessels could