__cty-ehows H-phee-& hours, CTC 7.4 wae directed to sef up the seecmb10,008 cloudstraexer (Wilsce 3) for H plus 12 to H plus 2 hours searet at £&%E in’sector centered oniONGERIE with: limiting true bearings 50° 80° t 500 IM, thence to 17 N, 163K to base, Wilson 3 was authorised shift his last turning point if necessary to acecuplish his miseion within — range capabilities. Wilson 3 was advised to expect contamination approxia © mately midway through the sector portion of his uiesicn. The vectored route following the sector searclt wae selected in ceccrdance with the foreeast cloud travel. toward the north and east and was specified ta verify forecasts and to evaluate the impact of contamination on the air and surface routes through Wake Ialand. at approxinately H § hours confirmation vas given to previous verbal authority for penntraticn of the Tanger coe tythe British Unit. Confirmation of the Wilson 2 survey between ENIWEIOK and GE available in « reports from the ENIWETOR monitoring systen ‘yeported readings, in rain, at 17454 on shot day of 4 ur/hr on PRED and 3 ar/hr on . LMER. Subsequent’ reports were in ;cod agreement, maxizame reaching 10-15 ar/he during the nicht of 1 and 2 March. _During tho afternoon of shot day it was decided to return the major ships to ENIWETOK for re--rouping of persommel. .iadsafe recomended that no ships enter the lazcon prior to 2 Marels and that water sampling (lagomn, drinking and salt systems) be carried on continuously during re-entry of the BIKINE lagoon om nlus one day and thereafter. . Subsequent to 2 Marelt, la;ocn contamination proved more an operations] miuisance than a hasard. *‘ Water intakes and ovaporators slouly built up activity, but- stabilised — with routine decontamination actions vy about 10 March,: however, salt’ water systems, such as heads and salt water pipe fittings, flushing occasionally to maintain acceptable levels. (See Tab J.) 4A report wag received about Zi00M on B Dey that the HSL NYKOPO instrument in the hands of tho weather detachment on 2ONGE:UIX had gome "off saale.* These instruments had a full ecale reading of 100 mr/hr, No higher scale instruments were available at GONCENIX. The off-scale feport was not viewed with concern since task force ships were experiencing readings of more than 100 ar/hr (the 3.I20K0 soins as hizt as 500 ar/hr on the flight deck). Considering the diatance (133 NM) and a cloud tracker _ at about 1945, 1 Marelt reporting of zero contamination over 2ONGEUX, it was generally believed that iiONGECIE and the’task force ships were caught ' in a general enst-west pattern of finely divided (95% less than § micron by cascade impactor) particles over a wide. area, ut 2200M, 1 Marat, the weather detachment was advised of this assumption and that the suspected conditions constituted no sipiuificant hasard to rersonnel; however, it wes ascertained later that this priority messaze did not get off the Command Ship until 0500M, 2 March. «ble was scheduled for 2 March. In addition, NYKOPO KW.J/LZIN Flight The message on this flicht also did not K-53