Work At Bikini Hampered

Chronicle (Levin), 29 July 1946, Page 5

Work At Bikini Hampered

Press Assn.

TREMENDOUS RADIOACTIVITY

By Telegraph

-Copyright

Received Sunday, 7 p.m. BIKINI, July 27. Shifting winds and currents sent lUdioactivity soaring in the inner target area, hampering salvage operations anu delaying attempts to assess the overatt damage more thoroughly, reports the Associated Press correspondent aboard the Mount McKinley. Vice-Adniiral Blandy has issued 110 ne-w statenieut covering the destruction but . reports from correspondents who viewed the tieet from the sea and air, showed at least tliirteen vessels sunk or damageu, including tlie battleship Arkansas, carrier Saratoga, an oilteiuler and two orj tliree sulnnarines sunk. The landnigship from which the bomb was suspenued had disintegrated. Listing were tlie Japanese battleship Nagato, the battleship New 'York, one transport and oue destroyer. Beached were the destroyer Hughes and transport Fallon. Cverturned was one L.B.T. The condition of several subniarines lying on tne bottom of the lagoou reniains a mystery. Vice-Admiral Blandy and others oi the High Command, took a fast perilous ride through the target fleet, but were only ahle to stay half an hour in tne violently radioactive area. They announced that every member of the party was exposed to- five per cent. more rays than were consider ed safe. At one point the Geiger counter began ciicking so fast that the radiological safety officer shouted full speed to the helmsman without waiting for the usuai chain of commands to get the vessei away. Vice-Admiral Blandy said probably men on the decks of every one of tne 75 target ships would have died from radioactive effects even though tne ships might not have been damageu. A radiological officer revealed tnar three patrolboats became so contaminated that the crews had to quit work. He believed none suffered, but there were some close calls. Radioactivity was particularly noticeable in barnacles, seaweed and rust on the ships bottoms. Tugboats, after working franticaliv, beached the transport Fallon which was damaged and listing after the explosion. Tlie Fallon 's topside was battered and , toru probably by the tremendous mass j of solid water falling from the sky. A great hole on the bottom "of the lagoon ainazed aerial observers, wno | also saw a great white airbubble arise, j indicating the sinking of a submarine. I The water in the lagoon after tne : detonation was a vivid green, caused by pulverised coral, but now it is markeu by a great milky streak and straying ' oil slicks from the sunken ships. I There is no sign of tlie 1500 animals j which under.weut the test, but it has not lieen disclosed whether they were left above the decks. The damaged vessels, " in ' addition to | those cabled, include the su innuri ile I Bkate, an other destroyer and another traiisjiort. Vice-Adniiral Blandy told a Hress conference that, had there been men on the carrier Baratoga, those surviving the blast probably could have saved ttie ship from sinking, since 71 liours eiapsed bei'ore.tlie vessei plunged. A«niiral Blandy added that almost. certainlv those same men would have dieu later. The deputy-coinniander of teehnicaJ direction, Rear-Admiral Parsons, said that a drone flving 6000 feet above ttie bomb landed with its metallic sides damaged and its liomb-bays broken down. Admiral Parsons added that tne air hlast and not the water coluniii uiidoiibtedly damaged the drone. ile explained that, after the water column had risen about 1000 feet, the blast overtook, overwhelmed and outspread it.