RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL Runit Vv level established for surface contamination on Runit.!20 The suggestion was nearly identical to the original alternative c proposed by Field Commande excision of of approxi contaminat: plan for exc 450 Command earlier in March 1979. The suggestion was rejected again on the grounds that the EIS did not specifically authorize the spreading of lowlevel excised soil from one island on another island. The Commander, Field Command issued new guidance to the effect that maximum effort should be exerted to excise, transport, and encapsulate Lujor soil and to transport and encapsulate soil and debris from Enjebi and Aomon. No more soil from Runit would be encapsulated at this time. To carry out this guidance, the CJTG would be required to insure selective excision of Lujorsoil and optimize usage of boats for soil transport to Runit.!2! The Director, DNA and the Commander, Field Command anticipated that future action to reduce transuranic levels on Runit would be possible, at least to reduce the “‘hot spots’’; i.e., the areas which indicate increased levels of activity after the first excision. The CJTG was tasked to develop a plan for the selective excision of hot spots on Runit, with the focus on the Fig-Quincearea. In preparing the plan, full consideration was to be given to: impact of additional work on Runit on the soil removaleffort on Lujor; availability of equipment, personnel, and time to complete the soil removal plan for the Runit hot spots; and, the impact of the plan on crater fill and crater capping operations. !22 AS a separate but related matter, the CJTG reported that excavation of the Cactus Crater lip on the island side of the containmentstructure would be necessary to permit adjustment in the keywall alignment and proposed that this soil be encapsulated as it was excavated. This soil was initially thought to be highly contaminated. Field Command guidance directed stockpiling of any soil from the crater lip until such time as the determination was made on thedisposition of all Runit soil.123 Actually, this craterlip soil proved, in subsequenttests, to have very low transuranic levels; i.e., 5 pCi/g. By mid-May, Boken and Enjebi soil excavation and transport to Runit were complete. The Aomon crypt had been cleaned and backfill initiated. All Aomon debris had been hauled to Runit, and Aomonsoil transport operations were underway, with 8,300 cubic yards of soil remaining to be transported. Soil excavation was almost complete on Lujor, and 4,900 cubic yards of an estimated 16,000 cubic yardsof soil had been transported to Runit. Considering dome space remaining and estimated soil yet to be encapsulated, it appeared that there still would be approximately 5,600 cubic yards of space available for Runit soil when that operation was renewed. !24 On 25-29 May1979, the Commander, Field Commandvisited Enewetak to review the cleanup progress and conduct a change of command. Colonel Kenneth E. Halleran, USA, replaced Colonel Robert Bauchspies as the over 160 pC readings). ” minimize t Lujor and / subsequent hectare grid would be co less than 16( of all soil « USAE wou: pCi/g) ove contaminate opportunity Runit withi loss of voh Lujor growi June 1979, emphasizins operation w September| Onceall E and the Fiss excised, the and after th final result, reduction ir this was pro no air samp maximum f[f 0.04 MPC. ¢ Runit, and characterizai - inch blanke -- check, a cor made by DC