64
RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL
beginning of DNA’s involvement in the Enewetak Cleanup Project3
Shortly after the conference, DOI formally notified President Nixon's
personal
representative
for the
MSN,
Ambassador
Franklin
Haydn
Williams, of the following decisions:
a. The United States was phasing down research programs to permit an
early return of the atoll to the TTPI.
b. Cleanup and rehabilitation of three islands— Medren (Elmer), Japtan
(David), and Ananij (Bruce) —could begin in 1973.
c. Subject to TTPI permission to continue the four test programs then
scheduled, the United States was prepared to release the atoll at the
end of 1973.4
These decisions were made public on [8 April 1972 in a joint statement
by Ambassador Williams and the High Commissioner of the TTPI, the
Honorable Edward E. Johnston. The announcement stated that, prior to
actual resettlement of the atoll, it would be necessary to carry out the same
type of survey, cleanup, and rehabilitation that had been carried out at
Bikini. It also stated that the United States planned to commence the
surveylater that summer. The survey did begin in 1972; however, due to
unforeseen events which are described in subsequent sections, the atoll
was not released until 16 September 1976, and formal cleanup operations
did not begin until 1977.
DETERMINING THE SCOPE OF WORK: MAY 1972
On 10-24 May 1972, a preliminary radiological survey and initial
reconnaissanceof the atoll was madeby representatives from AEC, DNA,
the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Western Environmental
Research Laboratory, and the University of Washington. They were joined
on 18-20 May 1972 by representatives of the U.S. Air Force, TTPI, and the
dri-Enewetak and their attorneys, Micronesian Legal Services Corporation
(MLSC), for conferences and tours of some major islands. Dri-Enewetak
representatives included Iroij (Chief) Johannes Peter of the dri-Enewetak,
Iroij Lorenzi Jitiam of the dri-Enjebi, and the Ujelang Community
Council. This was their first visit to their homeland since they were
removed in 1947. The tour party included several key participants in the
subsequent planning and cleanup efforts, such as Mr. Peter T. Coleman,
the Deputy High Commissioner of the TTPI, Mr. Oscar DeBrum, the
TTPI District Administrator of the Marshall Islands, Mr. Roger Ray of the
Nevada Operations Office of the AEC (AEC-NV), and Mr. Theodore R.
Mitchell, Executive Director of the MLSC. What they found were badly
deteriorated test and supportfacilities, which had been evacuated in 1958
almost as if for a fire drill rather than the end of an era. On Medren,