5. Q. WHERE DOES THE RADIATION IN THE ATOLL COME FROM? A. Primarily from radionuclides in soil. The levels vary con- siderably from one island to another. It is for this reason that Eneu and Bikini were suggested as village sites since these two islands have lower levels. 6. Q. WHY ARE THE ISLANDS NOW CONSIDERED ACCEPTABLE FOR HABITATION WHEN THEY WEREN'T SOME YEARS AGO? A. Radioactivity decreases with the passage of time nuclides disappear faster than others. Some radio- Altogether it is a com- bination of the passage of time and the work of nature in diffusing and dispersing the radionuclides. Readings taken in 1967, for instance, were lower than those of 1964. 7. Q. WHY MUST PRECAUTIONS BE TAKEN IN PLANTING PANDANUS TREES ON BIKINI? A. Pandanus fruit is a local diet staple, supplying certain needed vitamins. While there are no Pandanus of edible variety now on Bikini Island, samples from a nonedible vuriety have been found to contain a higher level of both strontium-90 and cesium-137 than other plants grown in the same soil. perts has The committee of ex- made a recommendation for reducing these levels in the fruit of trees to be planted on Bikini Island by removing the top two inches of soil which contains most of the radionuclides. On Eneu there is no need for such precautions since the soil there contains only a very small amount of radionuclides.