Date

Feb 23, 1968

Description

Giller kept the AEC up to date on the collection of aircraft and weapons debris and the efforts to remove contaminated ice and snow. According to Giller’s report, the “last piece of positively identified weapons debris was found on February 14.” A postmortem on the weapons debris had to determine what pieces belong to which weapons “in order to ascertain what happened to the fourth weapon secondary, from which no parts have been positively identified.”

Giller also reviewed the plans to scrap the top five inches of ice and snow from the impact area, which would comprise 100,000 cubic feet, noting that Oak Ridge was “prepared to dispose of this material, possibly in 25,000 gallon tanks.” During the recent talks in Copenhagen, the Danes proposed “to conduct all monitoring and surveillance studies of the biota of the area using the logistic support of Thule Air Base and leaving to the Air Force the task of removing the debris and scraping up snow and ice in the contaminated areas.” That was the essence of the “gentleman’s agreement.”

Source

Department of Energy Open-Net

Document published in following posting(s):

The United States and Greenland: Episodes in Nuclear History, 1957-1968
Part II: The B-52 Crash and Its Impact

Oct 15, 2025

Brig. General Edward B. Giller, Assistant General Manager for Military Application, to Atomic Energy Commission Members, “B-52 Crash at Thule Air Base, Greenland,” 23 February 1968, Secret, Excised Copy, with Joint U.S.-Denmark Statement, 16 February 1968 attached