afte Dot ve hv kage i DOB ARCHIVES’ it tee cee nae UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20545 SEP 12 iL.8 Chairman Seaborg Commissioner Ramey Commissioner Tape Commissioner Johnson THRU jomness 1 Mana gerard % K Og BIKINI ATOLL SURVEY By White House letter of August 12, 1968" the AEC was requested to work with the Department of the Interior and High Commissioner W. R. Norwood of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands in planning and assisting in carrying out a comprehensive program for the return of the Bikinians to their home islands, During the period of August 29-31, 1968, Lt. Colonel Anthony A. Gomes, DMA; Tommy F. McCraw, DOS; and Alfred M. Carter, Holmes & Narver, accompanied the High Commissioner, his party and the press (see Attachment 1) on a planning survey of the Bikini Atoll. Provided below for your information is a summary report on the results of this survey. In 1946 the people of Bikini Atoll were removed from their home islands in order to permit the United States to use the Atoll for nuclear test purposes, The Bikini people were moved initially to Rongerik and subsequently were relocated on the island of Kili in the southern part of the Marshall Islands. In 1967, a special AEC analysis of the radiological situation on Bikini Atoll resulted in the conclusion that the islands of Bikini and Eneu are now safe for human habitation, The Bikini Atoll is situated in the northern part of the Marshall Islands and consists of fifteen islands and two island complexes with a land area of 2.32 square miles (see Attachment 2). The lagoon extends over an area of 229 square miles, Marine life in the lagoon is plentiful and shows no signs of adverse effects from the nuclear detonations. * In the Record, Secretariat