7.5.2 Janet
Background

(na), is
Island Janet (Marshallese: Enjebi), the largest of the northern islands at 118 hectares
major
a
formerly
was
It
people).
(Enjebi
driEnjebi
the
to
island
historically the most important
the
coconut producing island, and it also has particular political and cultural significance for

driEnjebi. The island is roughly triangular with the points at the north, south and west. The soil
ranges from very soft and sandy to very hard, and vegetation cover was moderate to dense before
the cleanup began.
Tne Japanese built a compacted-coral runway and other facilities on Janet during World War IL, and

the island was involved in ground fighting.

Evidence of air and naval bombardments and of ground

engagements that remained until the cleanup included unexploded ordnance,
concrete remnants.

rusty

metal and

Janet was the site of three nuclear tests, and seven more took place in the lagoon nearby. The Easy
and X-Ray event ground zeros were in the center of the west tip of Janet, and the Item ground zero
was at the north tip. Figure 7-65 shows these sites relative to the cleanup sampling grid. Item site
is no longer on the island because the north coastline has shifted since the Item test took place in
1951. The seven lagoon events in the vicinity of Janet were 4,000 to 8,508 feet southwest of
Hardtack Station 1312, a bunker on the west tip of the island.

As a result of these ten events, plus

16 other events which deposited fallout on Janet, the island's cumulative H + 1 hour exposure rate
was 3,501 R/h, eighth highest in the Atoll.

Manyscientifie stations, bunkers, and campsite slabs were built on Janet for support of nuclear

testing activities, and these remained after testing ceased. Of particular concern in the cleanup
were Greenhouse Station 3.1.1, a large, three-story concrete structure near the center of the island,
and Hardtack Station 1312. These two structures were suspected to have some radioactive
contamination on their exterior surfaces. Some of the other metal and concrete debris was also
contaminated, although most of the World War II and testing debris was not contaminated.
The soil in the west area of Janet was apparently extensively stirred around in the process of site

cleanup and preparation between nuclear tests.

Although no definite record of such operations is

available, they can be inferred from the low surface TRU activity near the Easy and X-Ray sites
and the asphalt found below the surface during cleanup sampling.

It is not Known whether some

contaminated soil was removed from the island, or whether the surface soil was simply turned over
and

mixed.

It

is

known,

however,

that

some

contaminated

material,

possibly

plutonium-encrusted concrete from tower footings, was buried in the X-Ray event crater.

including

Burials of radioactive material at or near event sites appear to have been done routinely, hence

Easy and Item sites were also likely to have burial areas. No burial locations were knownprecisely
at the time of the cleanup, but two approximate locations were shown on a 1951 map and the
Environmental Impact Statement indicated a third possible area. These three areas are shown in

Figure 7-65.

Subsurface contamination might also have been associated with the numerous cable runs on Janet.

The runs were typically excavated to several feet below grade, with soil replaced on top of the

cable, forming a ridge above grade, sometimes as much as several feet. The coaxial cables were
ordinarily excavated and recovered after an event, and replaced if needed for later operations. In
this process, intermixing of contaminated surface soil with subsurface soil was inevitable. Some of
the borrow pits dug for cable run fill might also have been used later to bury contaminated
material. Some of the cables were never recovered after test operations ended - a number were
discovered during the cleanup of Janet.
These runs might have contained subsurface
contamination, Several cable runs werestill easily visible in 1979 as ridges of soil several feet high,
covered with dense brush.

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