. Oo C SUMMARY RESULTS OF ENEWETAK/BIKINI ATOLL VISITS September 1974 “DISCUSSIONS WITH THE PEOPLE On August 12, 1974, the Commission considered and approved recommendations contained in SECY 75-81 for cleanup and rehabilita- tion of Enewetak Atoll and instructed the staff to obtain comments from ' the Enewetak people. During the week of September 2, 1974, staff of _ the Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), Department of the Interior (DOJ), and the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), met with the Enewetak people and their advisors at Enewetak Atoll. The AEC recommendations were presented to the Enewetak Council, their advisors, members of the Congress of Micronesia, and staff of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI). The DNA submitted a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) which contains the AEC recommendations as the preferred option. During the series of meetings, there was ample opportunity for questions, Additional information was presented on radiation standards and their application to the radiological conditions leading to the recommendation that Enjebi not be resettled at this time. AEC staff were asked when Engebi would become habitable again. The staff responded that a precise estimate was not possible now, that natural decay would reduce the radioactivity in the soil and plants to acceptable levels in 30 years, and that AEC would be studying the rate of reduction of radioactivity in the environment and within five years should have a better answer to the question. There was a question about how the Enjebi people were to be accommodated till they can return to their island. A DOI representative said that this should be worked out by the Enewetak people and that it was hoped an agreement would be reached permitting the Enjebi people to live in the southernislands. The Enjebi people are concerned that their houses may be constructed on southern islands they do not own and that the houses could not later be moved to Enjebi. Representatives of AEC, DNA, and DOI, the District Administrator of the Marshall Islands, and the Enewetak Council and their legal advisors discussed the announced plan for 50 people to return to Japtan Island prior to cleanup. On July 18, 1974, DOI was advised that while there was no contamination on Japtan Island, AEC does not recommend return of people before cleanup and certification because of a number of hazardous conditions known to exist in other of Energy Department | Historian's Oifics ARCHIVES