SESSION II

71

very little equipment in Japan. This was Korean war time; 1954 was
right after the Armistice, I guess, or just before it. But anyway, it
was atense period. I went to Japan on the assumption that there
would be fully equipped radiochemical laboratories in our military
establishment, but as near as I could find they didn't exist. So I had
to send samples all the way to New York to get them analyzed.
DOBSON: So, when one looks at it from the Japanese point of
view—and Japan is a busy country with many ports and a great deal
of fishing—at least up until the time that you got there, Lauren, fish
were coming in off of many boats in many ports and there were very,
very few pieces of equipment in Japan that could be used for surveys?
EISENBUD: Yes.
Geiger counters.
DOBSCN:

We provided the equipment.

We had some

But how many ports could you inspect?

EISENBUD:
that right?

My recollection is that there were about 16 ports.
~
7

DONALDSON:

EISENBUD:

I really don't know, Merril.

It wasn't any larger than this.

or 14, but it wasn't very many.
WARREN:

ment,

EISENBUD:

Is

It might have been 12

It wasn't a large number of ports.

But you couldn't be everywhere with your single equip-~

No,

but we trained the Japanese.

We had,

I think,

some 30 pieces of equipment flown in and they were able to make
measurements, Their plan was that when they found radioactive fish
they would phone Toyko and I would fly down and take a look at it.
DUNHAM: Maybe we should ask Lauren why he was pulled over
there and what he found in the wake of Eisenbud's visits in terms of
public relations problems and relations with the scientists,
DONALDSON:

Well, maybe we can go back to the beginning which,

I guess, was March 1, 1954,

During each of these test operations our group was busy in the

Pacific, studying the biological effects of the radioactivity.

Quite in

contrast to Merril's statement, which I'm sure he didn't mean~he

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