U Tj a » 4) *t3 
south of the test headquarters. 
1 Bpth are within easy range and 
less than an hour's flying time 
from Christma§ by the Valient 
jet bombers, which the Com¬ 
modore said probably will drop 
the bombs. 
ASKED ABOUT ’fallout dan¬ 
ger to Hawaii, Commodore Hicks 
said there would be “no fallout 
in the acceptable sense.” 
That’s because the bombs will 
be exploded high in the air, 
where it is unlikely they could 
scoop up any earth particles and 
infect them with radioactivity. 
The biggest fallout danger, ac¬ 
cording to the U. S, Civil Defense 
Administration, comes from 
ground bursts which suck tons 
of radioactive earth and other 
particles thousands of feet into 
the air and spread them over 
a wide area. 
1] COMMODORE MICKS said 
the British H-bombs will be 
dropped fronf the belly of a jet 
bomber Dying at an altitude of 
40,000 to 50,000 feet. 
He wouldn’t say at what 
height they would be exploded 
except that “it will be high 
enough to prevent fallout.” 
Commodore Hicks, who Will 
command British naval opera¬ 
tions during the tests, said all 
preparations have been complet¬ 
ed and “we’re ready to go.” 
He said the tests-^“and I em¬ 
phasize the plural”—will begin 
in “the late Spring.” 
* jfc *t 
HE DECLINED to say whether 
the H-bombs for the tests' have 
arrived at Christmas. He said 
they would not be delivered 
through Honolulu and are not 
now aboard his ship. 
“I wouldn’t want to start a 
panic along that line,” he 
laughed. , 
Commodore Hicks said all 
British personnel would remain 
at Christmas Island during the 
tests except those aboard the 
10-ship nuclear task force which 
will patrol the danger area. 
: */ * ,* 
HE SAID planes from his car¬ 
rier will be in the air “about the 
tim^ of the tests and, in fact, 
certain planes will fly through 
the area after the blast to col¬ 
lect specimens.” 
With the exception of Amer¬ 
ican, Canadian, Australian and 
New Zealand VIP’s and scient¬ 
ists, no representatives of “for¬ 
eign ” governments will be per¬ 
mitted to watch the explosions, 
the commodore said. 
“NO RUSSIANS?” he was 
i 
askgiir^ 
^Certainly, no Russians,” he 
grinned. 
During the press conference 
an officer rigged a tape record¬ 
er to take it all down. 
“We’ll play this back to the 
crew,” the Commodore ex¬ 
plained. “After all, we have to 
keep these men entertained.” 
Palmyrm—^oae of the most toxic places in the Pacific. 
QU<r 
99 
UH, Air Force to 
Palmyra's Poisonous Fish 
The University of Hawaii 
and the Air Force are join¬ 
ing forces to send 25 scien¬ 
tists and Air Force personnel 
to Palmyra to study poison¬ 
ous fish. 
THE EXPEDITION will 
leave Saturday via AW 
Force transport The group 
will be commanded by Dr. 
A. H. Banner of the Universi- 
ty. 
Palmyra is the best avail¬ 
able source of the poisonous 
fish in the Pacific, Banner 
said. The tiny island, some 
1,500 miles south of Hawaii, 
“is one of the most toxic 
areas in the Pacific,” he 
said. 
THE AIR FORCE is provid¬ 
ing laboratory equipment to 
study the poisonous fish, and 
Banner will relay his find¬ 
ings to Hickam Air Force 
Base. 
Fish around Palmyra have 
increased in toxicity since 
the end of World War II, 
Banner said. 
• _ 
1 
CLfbi/' 
. a 
A ir Force Keeps 
Hold on Palmyra 
The Air Force confirmed yesterday that it would 
stay on Palmyra atoll—nearest landfall to Russia l 
Pacific rocket test zone. 
Headquarters in Washington, spokesmen at 
Hickam AFB said, have ordered a continuance of 
a Palmyra lease arrangement with the Fullard-Leo 
family of Honolulu. . 
The Pacific Air Force evacuated its last eight 
technicians from the atoll this week, after having 
acted a month ago to exercise a 30-day option to 
^But it turned out that Washington—for undisclosed 
reasons — had Changed its mind about Palmyra at 
about the time the Russians announced plan* to 
test-fire rockets into an area 250 miles west of the 
American island group. ,. _ 
The AF is understood to pay the FuHard-Leos 
000 a year for use of Its World War II base ot) 
Palmyra. The original three-year lease would expire 
on Dec. 31* 
