8 ae
Attachment
Uses by Past Mun ws
Residents Vacate Atomic-Test Atoll ;
Associated Poss
HONOLULU, May 21—Chickens, pigs,
canoes and dismantled houses were up-
loaded today at a central Pacific island that
will be the new home for 327 people whose
atoll was covered by nuclear faliout 31
years ago.
;
Seventy residents of Rongelap Atol and
their possessions arrived at Majetto Island
aboard the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warnor, according to Dick Dillman, a San Fran-
cisco-based spokesman for the environmertal organization.
Once the unloading was completed, the
150-foot motor-sail ship was scheduled to
make the 100-mile trip to pick up more res-
idents, Dillman saki Greenpeace
b~
estimated that 2 complete evacuation would
take four trips, be sasd.
Rongelsp, in the Marshall Islands, was
evacuated in 1954 after s U.S. nuclear test
called Operation Bravo. The islanders were
alowed to return m 1957.
:
- However, fear that lingering contamr
pation may pose a threat to children ied
atoll leaders to decide to leave the island
agzin.
TRozer of the U.S. Department of
Energy has said radiation levels on Rongelap pose no health threat and are, on average, lower than in someparts of the United
States.
~— s
Friday, May 10. 1985
MARSHALL ISLANDS JOURNAL
Volume 16, Number 19
i
Editorials
EVACUATE WASHINGTON
erhaps the answer to the radiation problem on RongeJap Atoll has finally been found, albeit unintentionally,
by the Deparunent of Energy which discount fears of
lingering radiation hazards with the now well-worn ana-
logy that Rongelap radiation fevels are no higher than
those in Washington, D.C The DOE would do well to
explain to Washington resident how their city resembl
es
an atoll that was contaminated with fallout from at least
four separate nuclear tests. If Washington is as “hot" as
Rongelap, and Rongelap radiation is equal to or higher,
in some Cases, than islands in Bikini then the answer
$s
obvious: evacuate Washington, D.C without delay.
39