tuila, Rarotonga, Wake Island, Kwajalein Atoll, Tongatabu
and Viti Levu were operated by Task Force Project Groups or
Weather Groups and on Nuku Hiva and Tahiti by French personnel. The purpose of the background stations was to document external radiation background and changes in background levels if they occurred.
A USPHSrad-chem laboratory was established in Honolulu,
Hawaii to support the off-site rad-safe program.
Facilities,
equipment and personnel were available for radiochemical
analysis of air, precipitation, water, milk, food and soil. The
facility remains in operation as a part of a continuing program of monitoring several of the Hawaiian Islands.
Bioenvironmental Monitoring
The bioenvironmental program for Operation Dominic was
under AEC contract with the University of Washington,
Seattle, Wash. A final report of their data is found in “Radionuclide Content of Foodstuffs Collected at Christmas Island
and at Other Islands of the Central Pacific During Operation
Dominic, 1962,” UWFL-87, by Ralph Palumbo.
During the period April 7 to July 29, 1962, collections of food-
stuffs, marine life included, were made from eight off-site
islands and Christmas Island to ascertain the radionuclide
content of the samples collected. In addition to samples collected by this group, USPHS off-site monitors furnished samples from areas not covered by the University of Washington
en
scientists.
Approximately 8,000 samples were collected dur-
ing the time which covered pre-testing, testing and post-testing
periods. Part of these samples were scanned promptly for
radioactive content, however, a majority of the samples were
returned to the University of Washington for complete
wd Mein
analysis.
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