A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE 



The original EMBL building eventually proved inade- 

 quate to the needs of the scientists and in 1956 was 

 expanded to include an extension for storage and a 

 4' X 20' concrete tank to hold experimental animals. 

 Further expansion of the laboratory occurred in 1959 

 when Albert L. Tester of the University of Hawaii initiated 

 a major program in shark physiology and behavior. For 

 this program, two interconnected parallel tanks were con- 

 structed, which allowed sharks to swim in an oval pattern. 

 This facility permitted Tester and his colleagues to hold 

 and condition sharks, to test their reactions to various 

 chemical stimulae, and to elucidate some of the anatomical 

 and neurological bases for their aggressive behavior. 



Nuclear testing activities at Enewetak ended in late 

 1958 with the declaration by President Eisenhower of a 

 moratorium (accompanied by a similar Soviet moratorium) 

 on all nuclear testing. The 1958 moratorium, originally a 

 1-year commitment, was actually continued until Sep*- 

 tember 1961. At that time, the Soviets suddenly resumed 

 testing at a high rate. Even then, however, the United 

 States, in its response, did not return to testing in the 

 Marshall Islands. Although the AEC continued to adminis- 

 ter the Pacific Proving Ground until it was transferred to 

 the Navy in 1960, AEC gradually withdrew activities and 

 support on Medren until EMBL was the only active facility 

 on that island. This made support such as power, water, 

 housekeeping and messing, and logistics difficult. In 1961 

 EMBL moved from Medren to Enewetak Island where an 

 active support infrastructure still existed. The laboratory's 

 new home became a building on the lagoon side of 

 Enewetak Island, previously used as a recreation center 

 (Figs. 4 and 5). This building was modified to provide two 

 small air-conditioned rooms for the protection of instru- 

 ments and chemicals. A rectangular aquarium was con- 

 structed in the center of the large main room which was 

 enclosed on three sides and open to the lagoon. A sea- 

 water system was installed, and living quarters were pro- 

 vided for EMBL personnel and visiting scientists in a build- 

 ing across the lagoon road from the laboratory complex. 

 Although adequate, this facility had one imp)ortant draw- 

 back. Boat operations required the use of the utility pier at 

 the northeast end of the island, making loading and 

 unloading difficult, and necessitating the carrying of equip*- 

 ment and specimens between the pier and the laboratory. 

 By 1969, another move was in order. 



In this same year, the directorship of EMBL passed 

 first from Robert W. Hiatt to Vernon E. Brock, and then, a 

 few months later, to Philip Helfrich. Helfrich continued as 

 director until January 1, 1975. 



In 1969, military activities at Enewetak dictated 

 another move for EMBL, this time to the vicinity of a 

 large, three-story dormitory building which had been con- 

 structed on the ocean side, toward the middle of Enewetak 

 Island. The new location was a complex of aluminum build- 

 ings, previously used as library, recreation center, and 

 darkroom. This location was more desirable because of its 

 proximity to sleeping quarters, food service facilities, and 

 the boat launching ramp. In addition, it included a large, 



covered lanai — which was supplied with running seawater 

 for aquaria — and two portable swimming pools used as 

 holding tanks. With about twice the space that had previ- 

 ously been allocated, the new facility included a large gen- 

 eral laboratory, a shop, photo darkroom, library, equip- 

 ment room, communications room, a dive locker, and a 

 separate building for the storage of hazardous chemicals 

 (Fig. 6). In the early 1970s, EMBL acquired its own com- 

 munication system, providing a voice and teletype link to 

 the University of Hawaii. 



MOVES TOWARD RESETTLEMENT 



The year 1972 brought significant fxjlitical develof)- 

 ments which were to have a lasting effect upon the future 

 of the people of Enewetak and upon the fortunes of 

 EMBL. Political status talks had been going on for several 

 years between the government of the United States and 

 representatives of the people of the Trust Territory of the 

 Pacific Islands (TTPI). These talks were aimed at ultimate 

 termination of the United Nations trusteeship over the 

 Micronesian Islands (with the United States as trustee) and 

 the establishment of one or more new and independent 

 self-administering political entities. During the 1972 talks, 

 responding to the pleas of the people of Enewetak for the 

 return of their home islands, the United States took the 

 first steps toward that return. In April, Ambassador Hay- 

 den Williams, the President's personal representative to 

 the talks, was joined by High Commissioner Edward John- 

 ston of the TTPI in a public statement of U. S. intentions. 

 It provided that military use of Enewetak would shortly be 

 completed, thus permitting the atoll to be returned to the 

 administration of the Trust Territory, and that steps neces- 

 sary to rehabilitate the islands for resettlement could then 

 begin. 



Later in 1972, the AEC's Nevada Operations Office, 

 using the resources of its national laboratories and contrac- 

 tors, mounted a massive radiological survey of Enewetak 

 Atoll as a preliminary step toward cleanup and rehabilita- 

 tion. These activities are described in official reports 

 (U. S. AEC, 1973; U. S. DOE, 1982; Holmes and 

 Narver, 1973; and U. S. DNA, 1975). Although EMBL 

 did not participate directly in either the 1972 survey or 

 the cleanup, the director and other scientists consulted and 

 assisted in many ways. While applied science and engineer- 

 ing were at work to restore the atoll, the basic studies of 

 EMBL continued apace. Although this tiny, remote 

 research station might have been overwhelmed by the 

 enormity of the cleanup effort (thousands of men, over 3 

 years, at a cost of more than $100 million), those respon- 

 sible in the AEC (now the U. S. Department of Energy) 

 and the U. S. Defense Nuclear Agency (DNA), recognized 

 the lasting worth of the science program and saw to it that 

 the laboratory's interests were protected. 



In 1978, the U. S. Coast Guard LORAN Station, 

 which had occupied a complex of buildings at the eastern 

 end of Enewetak Island, was closed. By agreement with 

 DNA and with the p)eople of Enewetak, DOE obtained the 



