MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT:
CJTF SEVEN
Report on “Soil and Water Sampling Mission
1. In compliance with your oral instructions, tho undersigned visitcd Wot jo,
Erikub, Maloolap, Wotho, Majuro Atolls in the Marshall Islands 5 through 7 March ~
1954 for the purpose of obtaining carth and drinking wator samplcs, and of moasur.ing gamma ray dose rates, and also checked the radiological condition of the S.S.
ROQUE on its arrival at Majuro 7 March 195k,
2. The first four atolls were visited by Marshallese intcorpreter Takushi
and the writcr by means of an UF-1 amphibious aircraft. Majuro was reached by
C~47. Erikub might have been omitted sinco it was not inhabited, being property
of the Wotjc tribo which goos there only occasionally to gather copra. (This was
we
unknown until after the visit.)
3.
At cach atoll, oly the principal inhabited island was visited,
At cach
visitod island an cffort was made to compose a reproscntative soil avcrage by
collecting into a single containor scvcral samplcs, cach approximtcly one squar+
foot of arca and one inch depth,
sources currently in use.
arcaS.e
Wator samples wero collected from tho princip:
Tho gamma dose ratcs are avoregos for the inhabited
k. With regard to certain minor discrcpancics between the survoy methods usby Major R. D. Crea and the writer; it was originally planned to perform the suri |
jointly, and when it bccamo advisable to scparate and survey different atolls, no
timc remaincd for discussion of deteils of techniques,
:
5.
Gamma-ray dose ratcs on Wotje and on Erikub are cach the average of MX-5
and AN/PDR-39 average rcadings which agreed reasonably well. Theo MX-5 was render
inoperative when the rubber life raft was swamped by surf onthe first attcapt to
launch from the beach at Erikub.
Following tho Wotho survey, the PDR-39 develops¢
a temperaturo-depondent reading of 0.4 - 2 mr/hr, so that later readings in this
range are of very dubious reliability.
6,
The following tabulation swomarizcs the atoll survey.
Water Sample:
ATOLL
ISLAND
DATE
TILE
WOTJE
ORMED
§ Mar
1600
ERIKUB
EN OE
i
ERIKUB
5 Mar
1715
AMPLE NO
S is Seil, Wis
MRAHR & SAMPLING
S5
3.5 mrfnr, l-bcach, 3-mid-vill..
w6
4 well plus 4 catch basin.
S6
1.5 orfhr.
age, l=-back village.
l-mid-village, 1
on path to boach.
No inhabit—
ants, no water supply found.