., ->* CHAPTER 4 POTENTIAL FOR ENHANCING PROJECT CREDIBILITY THROUGH INDEPENDENT ASSESSMENTS Significant radiological aspects of the cleanup portion on the project to cleanup, rehabilitate, and resettle Enewetak Atoll are not being independentlyassessed by organizations having no connection or interest in the nuclear testing program. This situation could conceivably raise questions ‘ on the objectivity of the project. Independent assessments are, in our opinion, unequivocally dictated by the importance of the project to the people of Enewetak and the United States. .. Supporting this need is the recent Bikini incident; the concern focused on occupational and environmental radiat:.n standards, specifically, on military personnel exposed to radiation frcm nuclear weapons tests conducted years ago in Nevada and in the Pacific; . . and finally by the project cost which is estimated at about $120 million. Lack of independent assessments: Cleanup criteria and objectives . . The cleanup criteria and objectives have been revised; the criteria were made more stringent and the original objective of cleaning up plutonium-239 and plutonium-240 were expanded to include all transuranic elements. A recent DNA study showed, however, that the primary raciiation hazard continues to be suburanic elements which will remain dcminant over the . transuranic element hazard for perhaps the next centun- .* 22 . . . ..,.” . =.