i A’ 1, . . ,, SUMMARY OF RADIOLOGICAL MONITORING OF PERSONNEL AND ENVIRONMENT o AT BIKINI ATOLL, 1969 - 197& (“ 410058 Background In 1946, before Operation Crossroads, the residents of Bikini were evacuated. After stays at Rongerik and Kwajalein which proved unsatis- factory, “theywere relocated on Kili Island in the southern MarshalIs, which also proved unsatisfactory. The Eniwetok people were relocated at Ujelang atoll, to the west, after their evacuation. Among these dis- placed people there has always been a strong desire, with emotional and nostalgic overtones, to return to their home islands. After the 1958 moratoriwn on atmospheric nuclear testing, radiological surveys were carried out at Bikini and later at Eniwetok atoll in order to assess the radiological conditions with regard to rehabitation by the people. In 1967 the principle isotopes contributing to the gamma radiation field on Bikini and Enue Islands were amounts of Pu were also found. 137Cs * 60C0 125Sb 9 s and 155EU. small s Considerable variation was seen in the contamination of individual islands comprising the atolls of Bikini and Eniwetok since different tests had been conducted on various ones. The contamination of Rongelap and Utirik was more uniform, due largely to fallout from a single detonation, Bravo. In 1968 an AEC ad hoc committee reviewed the survey re’suitsfor Bikini and decided that Eneu and Bikini Islands were safe for habitation, with certain measures recommended to reduce exposure. In 1969 a group of about 30 Marshallese people settled in a workcamp on Eneu Island at Bikini Atoll to carry out the rehabilitation program. Many of the group commuted to Bikini Island, about seven miles away, where they worked ‘, during the day. By early 1972 three Bikini families (about 50 people)