TEST B: UNDERWATER EXPLOSION 



by the radioactive lagoon water. Being well clear of 

 the lagoon at the time of the explosion did not prevent 

 these ships later feeling the effects of the bomb. 



A number of the support ships, on reaching the west 

 coast of the United States, were found to be still af- 

 fected by radioactive materials, and were held in tem- 

 porary quarantine. Strenuous processes of cleaning 

 and decontamination were arranged. Special methods 

 of cleaning the sides and bottoms of the ships were 

 worked out; oxygen rebreathing apparatus was sup- 

 plied to the men doing the work; elaborate checking 

 procedures were established. 



Fortunately, no hazard existed to personnel not 

 actively engaged in the operation, repair, or cleaning 

 of the contaminated portions of the ships. This meant 

 that there was no danger to anyone from having these 

 ships in harbors and at ordinary docking facilities. 

 By observing relatively simple safety precautions, per- 

 sonnel working on these ships did so with no danger 

 to themselves. 



The homeward voyage of the support vessels from 

 Bikini got underway in early August. Few support 

 ships remained in the atoll after mid- September. The 

 scientists gathered again in their laboratories in con- 

 tinental United States, analyzed their instruments' 

 records and wrote their detailed reports. Then the 

 overall reports were compiled. For the first time the 

 full story of what happened at Bikini began to un- 

 fold. Now, armed with facts instead of guesses, engi- 



171 



