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 There were also some later determinations at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard of alpha contamination of support ships. These are discussed later in this chapter.

Cessation of Bikini Decontamination Efforts

As a result of the 10 August conference, decontamination efforts stopped but apparently someone proposed at a 12 August conference that the capital ships be entered for the purpose of starting their engines and machinery to pump them out and thoroughly inspecting their internal structures. The reply was a staff CJTF 1 memorandum to Commander Task Group (CTG 1.2), dated 13 August and signed by the Chief of the Radsafe Section. The tone of this document can only described as stern and didactic. It dismisses the argument that the low gamma readings would permit such operations with a terse, "This is not the case," and continues, "The widespread presence of an alpha emitter has been demonstrated." The memorandum then catalogs the sources of possible exposure of personnel on the target ships, introducing the list with the statement, "The following facts have been observed in these vessels." It concludes with several "uncontestable conclusions." These conclusions amounted to a denial of the request to enter the ships on a large scale (Reference C.11.30).

It was directed that no one go aboard ships after 14 August without a badge. However, while the percentage of badging does increase after 14 August, 100 percent badging was not achieved. Only recovery of instruments, limited surveys, salvage work, and preparations for towing were allowed (Reference C.9.185, p. 13; Reference C.11.3). Virtually no target ships were boarded on 11 August, and only a few on 12 August. Beginning on 13 August some limited decontamination was done as part of the effort to ready the ships for towing. Inspections of target ships were conducted between 13 and 19 August.

CTG 1.2, however, requested that restoration work on USS Carteret (APA-70), USS Conyngham (DD-371) and Wainwright be continued. All surfaces of spaces to be occupied by personnel for working, berthing, or messing were to be painted, presumably to prevent alpha emitters from becoming airborne or being picked up on the men's clothing or skin (Reference C.10.2). In the end, however, only Conyngham was decontaminated sufficiently to be remanned. On 28 August, it departed Kwajalein for Pearl Harbor under its own power, arriving there on 6 September (Reference C.0.3, p. 3; Reference C.9.206, p. V-(D)-6). On advice from the Radsafe Section, all work on Carteret and Wainwright ceased on 18 August. The crews of both ships were transported home on 20 August because of possible overexposure to radiation (Reference C.0.3, p. 3).

Although radiation levels in the lagoon and on the atoll's islands were below tolerance levels, the accumulation of radioactivity in the support ships' evaporators and saltwater piping and in the marine growth and rust on their hulls below the waterline presented an increasing problem. The base of operation had to be moved from Bikini, and Kwajalein was selected (Reference C.10.4).

Contamination made it difficult to prepare most target ships for movement to Pearl Harbor or to systematically study the damage they had sustained. A series of decisions resulted in towing target ships to Kwajalein beginning 19

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