Enewetak Fact Book (A Resume'of Pre-Cleanup Information)
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t)/^. 103 I ^1*9- NVO-214 M^. \ ENEWETAK FACT BOOK (A RESUME'OF PRE-CLEANUP INFORMATION) COMPILED BY WAYNE BLISS U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY °° "%rr "^« COMPILED 1977 PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1982 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NEVADA OPERATIONS OFFICE LAS VEGAS, NEVADA ' -> '3 i-'M'Kirta M DISCLAIMER "This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favor ing by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof." This report has been reproduced directly from the best available copy. Available from the National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, Springfield, Virginia 22161 Price: Printed Copy A10 Microfiche A01 Codes are used for pricing all publications. The code is determined by the number of pages in the publication. Information pertaining to the pricing codes can be found in the current issues of the following publications, which are generally available in most libraries: Energy Research Abstracts (ERA); Government Reports Announcements and Index (GRA and I); Scientific and Technical Abstract Reports (STAR); and publication NTIS-PR-360, available from NTIS at the above address. DISCLAIMER This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency Thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. DISCLAIMER Portions of this document may be illegible in electronic image products. Images are produced from the best available original document. 1-170—214 NVO-214 ENEWETAK FACT BOOK (A RESUME'OF PRE-CLEANUP INFORMATION) COMPILED BY WAYNE A. BLISS U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY FOR ENEWETAK RADIOLOGICAL SUPPORT PROJECT NOTICE -DISCLAIMER - PORTIOWS OF THIS REPOOT ARE ULESIBLE. It This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United Slates Goverrtment Neither the Un ted Stales Govermient nor any agency thereof nor any of their employees makes any has bsen reproduced from the best avaiiabls warrarity exoress or implied or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy complf-eness or usefulness oi ary information apparatus product or process disclosed or represents 'hdt its use would not infringe privately owned rights Reference herein to any specific copy to permit the broadest possible avail commercial product process or service by trade name trademark manufacturer or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement recommendation or favoring by the United ability. States Government or any agency thereof The views and opinions of authors esoressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any aaency thereof COMPILED FOR FIELD USE 1977 PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1982 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY NEVADA OPERATIONS OFFICE LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 5''S. : •y.l^-'':-l FOREWORD In 1977, soon after establishment of the Enewetak Radiological Support Project (ERSP) to provide radiological advice and assistance to the Defense Nuclear Agency, it became essential to assemble an "as is" description of the Atoll. We asked Wayne Bliss, of EPA's Environmental Monitoring Systems Laboratory, Las Vegas, Nevada, to take on this important task. Over the ensuing months, Wayne examined records, files and notebooks and, I often think, his crystal balL He interviewed many old-timers smd became himself a true authority on this tiny coral atoll which had sustained the multiple impacts of more than a decade of earth moving, construction and nuclear testing. The record of Wayne's research became the Enewetak Fact Book. To all of the ERSP management team and to the DOD planners it became an indispensable tool. As now published, it becomes a part of the Enewetak history. Wayne Bliss has our thanks for a most valuable contribution. Roger Ray Project Manager Enewetak Radiological Support Project Las Vegas September 1982 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Foreword Prologue 1 Alice 8 Belle 10 Clara 12 Daisy 14 Edna 1^ Flora and Gene 18 Helen and Irene 20 Janet 25 Kate 52 Lucy 54 Mary 56 Nancy 58 Olive 60 Pearl 62 Percy 68 Ruby 70 Sally (also Sally's child) 72 Tilda 88 Ursula 90 Vera 92 Wilma 95 Yvonne, South 98 Yvonne, North 103 Minor Southern Islands 164 David 178 Elmer 180 Fred 194 Leroy 214 Epilogue 216 Distribution 217 PROLOGUE ENEWETAK FACT BOOK Wayne Bliss (Written in 1977 - before cleanup) "Enewetak Fact Book" is a term which has evolved to describe a group of short treatises on the preeleanup condition of the islands in Enewetak Atoll (Figure 1). These assemblages were compiled in a relatively short time in 1977 and have no formal structure nor have they been reviewed by any process normally afforded to the briefest technical note. Their purpose is to provide brief guidance to the radiological history and radiological condition of the islands for use in cleanup of the Atoll, i.e. cleaning up physical and radiological hazards which resulted from nuclear test operations conducted there from 1948 through 1958. The information presented in the Fact Book has been gleaned from numerous sources which include formal reports, old and new; files, both agency and personal; and many interviews and discussions. Therefore, some of the information is popular opinion, some is inferential, but most of it can be substantiated by formal reports and experts from the testing program. The principal report for determining radiological conditions for cleanup is NVO-140, Enewetak Radiological Survey, Oct. 1973. Many of the figures herein are reproduced directly from that report. Other important reports are the Engineering Study for a Cleanup Plan (1972), and the Environmental Impact Statement (1975), both prepared for the Defense Nuclear Agency by Holmes & Narver, Inc. Brevity has been a key factor in the composition of this Fact Book as one who must conduct a field operation cannot efficiently perform while carrying a reference library. Therefore, much of the information is presented very concisely and on map figures. It is necessary for the user of the Fact Book to be familiar with the test program at the Enewetak Proving Ground and be able to make logical inductions or refer to an appropriate reference for more detailed information. The first nuclear test at the Enewetak Proving Ground was conducted on April 14, 1948 (Greenwich time). OPERATION CROSSROADS conducted at Bikini Atoll in 1946 consisted of two experiments to determine the effects of nuclear explosions on military hardware. OPERATION SANDSTONE conducted at Enewetak in 1948 was the pioneering attempt to scientifically evaluate nuclear explosion phenomena. All nuclear experiments at Enewetak were weapons related; however, they included various studies related to understanding the explosion phenomenon and blast effects. Many additional studies were conducted such as measuring biological exposure and responses, evaluating detection instruments, comparing nuclear yield determination methods and so on. A typical operation at Enewetak consisted of facility construction by a contractor (Holmes (5c Narver, Inc.), conduct of the operation by a joint AEC-DOD task force, and an interim roll-up and preparation of the following operation by the contractor. Table 1 is a list of the nuclear operations and nuclear tests conducted at Enewetak. MO' '«o- u^IT N WAKE ISLANDS ' -m MARIANAS ^ •^•ISLANDS ENIWETOK ATOLL] GUAM- V .BIKINI ATOLL * •>• • MARSHALL TRUK • • '. ISLANDS . KWAJALEIN^ > CAROLINE ISLANDS CANTON ISLAND • GILBERT CHRISTMAS « ISLAND \ ISLANDS , • SOLOMON ISLANDS '^•••*' REGIONAL MAP SOO 0 300 COO ORAPHIC SCALE IN NAUTICAL MILES AIRLINE DISTANCES MAP NO SCALE FIGURE la. ENEWETAK ATOLL LOCATION MAPS T ~T-z—] r- + + o + c 30 m < m h ; H 888 S I " > > H += O is ii O o > > 1 J CO ff T T- C_ _I ' 1 T TABLE 1 ENEWETAK PROVING GROUND Operation/Event Name Date e& Height Yield Location (GCT) (ft) of Burst SANDSTONE X-RAY 4/14/48 Tower 200 37 KTl Janet, west tip YOKE 4/30/48 Tower 200 49 KT Sally, west tip ZEBRA 5/14/48 Tower 200 18 KT Yvonne, north end GREENHOUSE DOG 4/7/51 Tower 300 - Yvonne,.north end EASY 4/20/51 Tower 300 47 KT Janet, west tip GEORGE 5/8/51 Tower 200 - Ruby ITEM 5/24/51 Tower 200 - Janet, north tip IVY MIKE 10/31/52 Surface 10.4 MT2 Flora (thermonuclear) KING 11/15/52 Airdrop, 1500 500 KT Yvonne, 2000' north CASTLE NECTAR 5/13/54 Barge 1.69 MT Mike Event Crater REDWING LACROSSE 5/4/56 Surface 40 KT Yvonne, north end YUMA 5/27/56 Tower 200 Sally, west tip ERIE 5/30/56 Tower 300 Yvonne, near runway SEMINOLE 6/6/56 Surface 13.7 KT Irene BLACKFOOT 6/11/56 Tower 200 Yvonne, middle KICKAPOO 6/13/56 Tower 300 SaUy, north tip OSAGE 6/16/56 Airdrop 670 Yvonne, middle INCA 6/21/56 Tower 200 Pearl 1- KT = Kiloton defines energy equivalent to 1000 tons of TNT.