MEMORANDUM FOR:
SUBJECT:
1,
CJTF SEVEN
10 March 1954
Report on “Soil and Wator Sampling Mission
‘In compliance with your oral instructions, tho undersigned visited Not je,
Erikub, Maloolap, Wotho, Majuro Atolls in tho Marshall Islands 5 through 7 March
1954 for the purpose of obtaining oarth and drinking water samples, and of moasur-
ing gamma way doso rates, and also checkod tho radiological condition of the S.S.
ROQUE on its arrival at Majuro 7 March 1954,
2.
Tho first four atolls wore visited by Marshalleso intcrprotor Takushi
and the writcr by mans of an UF-1 amphibious aircraft. Majuro was reached by
C-47. Erikub might havo beon omitted since it was not inhabited, boing proporty
of tho Wotjo tribo which goos thoro only occasionally to gather copra.
(This was
unimown until after tho visit.)
3. At cach atoll, oly tho principal inhabited island was visited, At cach
visited island an cffort was made to compose a reprosontativo soil avcrago by
collecting into a single container sovoral samples, coach approximatcly ono squr
foot of aroa and one inch depth.
sources currontly in use.
AarCaSe
Wator samples wore collected from tho princip:...
Tho gamma doso rates aro averegos for the inhabited
.
°
4.
With rogard to certain minor discrepancies botwoen the survoy methods us-
5.
Gamma-ray dose rates on Wotje and on Erikub aro cach the averago of MX~5
by Major R. D. Crea and tho writer; it was originally planned to perform the surt
jointly, and when it bccamo advisable to scparato and survey difforcnt atolls, no
time romainod for discussion of details of techniques,
and AN/PDR-39 avorage readings which agreed reasonably woll., Tho MX~5 was rondec
inoperative when the rubber life raft was swamped by surf on‘tho first attcmpt to
launch from the beach at Erikub.
Following tho Wotho survoy, the PDR-39 dovoloper
a tomperature—dependent reading of 0,4 = 2 arf/hr, so that later readings in this
range arc of very dubious reliability.
6.
The following tabulation summarizes the atoll survey.
Water Samples
S is Seil, Wis
ATOLL
ISLAND
DATE
TOE
SAMPLE NO
MRAIR & SAMPLING
WOTJE
ORMED
5 Mar
1600
85
3.5 orfnr, l~beach, 3-mid-vill-
W6
ERIKUB
ERIKUB
5 Mar
1715
S6
age, l-back village.
" 4 well plus 4 catch basin.
1.5 mfhr.
l-mid-village, 1
on path to boach.
No inhabit-.
ants, no water supply found.
SRD- 213 -SY-2E
‘