Congress cold shoulder

for Enewetak's exiles

From a Saipan correspondent

The United States Congress has dashed the hopes of the people of Enewetak atoll of an early return to their homes from which they have been exiled since 1947. Congress has refused to vote the money needed to clean up the atoll which has been used as a nuclear testing site.

Several times in the last two years, the Enewetakese, 350 of them, living on Ujelang in the Marshalls for 27 years, have been promised an early return. Contamination is the main obstacle and recently plans were completed for a clean-up.

Now, they have been told by Lieutenant-General Warren D. John son, Director of the US Defence Nuclear Agency that the Congress committees concerned have refused the necessary funds requested by the Defence Department.

“Apparently”, said General John son, “some members of the Congress are not convinced the United States is committed to carry out this pro ject. They are also concerned with the overall cost and the fact that, when we presented our proposals to them, they were not sufficiently de finitized”.

Mr Ted Mitchell, Director of the Micronesian Legal Services Corpora tion, which is handling the Enewe takese legal affairs, told the Micro nesian News Service that if there was no other way of obtaining the money it would mean another year’s delay in the return to the atoll—and per haps more.

Deputy High Commissioner Peter T. Coleman, who saw the Enewetak people in September, said he was hopeful that some other way would be found to “revive the interest of Congress in the Enewetak project”.

The clean-up and rehabilitation programme, which includes extensive replanting of trees and crops and the building of houses, is estimated to cost SUS3S million. The US Nuclear Agency, which is responsible for the clean-up, with the Department of the Interior looking after the rehabilita tion side of the scheme, asked Con gress for about SUSI 2 million to begin the work.

The “environmental impact state ment” prepared by the Nuclear De fence Agency recommended that the people be allowed to return to their homes and establish settlements on

three major islands in the southern part of the atoll. They will not be allowed to settle on islands in the northern area because of heavy con tamination still remaining from the tests, 43 of which were conducted mostly on or near the northern islands.

The people were told they would be allowed to send an advance party of about 50 to Japtan Island in the south before the end of this year.

Some of them would work with the clean-up force.

One island is so heavily contami nated with plutonium 239, a highly toxic radio-active isotope with a half life of 24,000 years, that it must remain quarantined for many years.

Tests of plants, soil, fish, birds and water revealed that radio-active con tamination varied greatly from place to place, as well as from island to island. In general, it was found that radio-active levels in lagoon water, fish and birds were not enough to be harmful. But plants in the north ern islands of the atoll have high concentrations of radio-activity.

The Atomic Energy Commission recommended that these islands be not used for living on or for agricul ture, including raising farm animals.

Coconut crabs (a delicacy through out Micronesia), should not be eaten if taken from contaminated areas.

The island of Runit, where 17 tests were held, is heavily contami nated, in particular, with plutonium.

The AEC recommended that plu tonium-contaminated soil from Runit and other islands be put into two existing nuclear craters on Runit and entombed in concrete. This is apparently the most practical of several alternative methods of dis posal of the material.

While accepting that Runit will have to remain quarantined, the people of Enewetak were dis appointed to learn that Enjebi, one of the major islands of the atoll and the traditional home island of a sub division of the Enewetak people, known as “Dri-Enjebi” (people of Enjebi) cannot be populated at pre sent, because the AEC does not know how to clean up some radio activity.

0 Enewetak, previously Enhvetok, is now regarded as the official spell ing.