OFFICIAL USE- ON LY UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION WASHINGTON D C 20545 March 18 1969 Files THRU t John R Totter Director DBM TRIP TO THULE GREENLAND JANUARY 23 WITH B-52 CRASH JANUARY 20 1968 t t '6 FEBRUARY 3 1968 IN CONNECTION The request came Tuesday January 23 at 10 a m from Mr Winter Deputy Director Division of Military Application He had spoken to Mr Hollingsworth who while agreeing that Wright Langham was the expert in Pu contamination problems wanted a man from his staff preferably an MoD to be at the site A Danish scientific team proceeding at the same time from Copenhagen to Thule was thought to be medically oriented but this turned out to be incorrect Since Dr Storer was already slated for Japan I cancelled appointments got my passport some money and clothes and reported to the Pentagon by 2 p m In Dr Walske 1 s office Dr Langham who had come in from Oak Ridge and I were briefed on the situation as it was then known and on the members of the Danish team After a short visit with General Scott who pointed out how very important it was for the crash to be taken care of properly promptly and thoroughly Colonel Moore and Colonel Shwiller furnished us with orders took us to ndrews Air Force Base got our cold weather equipment and put us on an executive plane to McGuire Air Force Base We were to have taken off next morning at 6 p m for Thule but bad weather there caused the flight to be cancelled A Colonel C S Dresser was also waiting for this flight and when we learned that he was the Commanding Officer of Thule Air Force Base returning from leave we took advantage of the 24 hour delay to learn as much as possible about Thule Thus we were instructed about Phases the local name for wind storms off the ice cap The characteristic of a Phase is that fine ice crystals are blown horizontally so as to fill the air and create the white out in which one promptly gets lost and freezes to death Also the velocity of the wind rapidly increases the Chill Index so that the normal -20° F to -40° F during the winter months has the cooling effect of something like -75° For so A man 1 s bare hand will freeze solid under such circumstances within a minute Annex I gives the safety procedures which are obeyed to the letter when the base intercoms and radio give warnings of Phases A Phase can develop within fifteen minutes but usually they are forecast abo t six hours in advance Note is made of Phases because they condition u all activities on the base Throughout the first consideration was OFFICIAL USE ONLY 1 ·· Ji I •-· -t' t'l IM t -- I OFFICIAL USE ONLY - 2 - Files that the base personnel not be put at risk It is because of these sudden-death storms that the native Greenlanders eskimos build a small igloo whenever they make a rest stop apparently they can read the weather signs as accurately as the meteorologists Thule is 76° 30 1 North and 68° 30' West about 800 miles South of the North Pole so that during January there is little or no light except for a light tinge of pink on the southern horizon that slowly fades into the sharp blackness of the nearly starless polar sky As shown on the daylight-darkness chart Figure I the shift from total darkness to total daylight occurs rapidly The early stages of the investigation and clean-up had to be made in near total darkness The fully-fueled B-52 was about 90 miles South of Thule at 28 000 feet when an electrical fire was discovered in the main compartment and its pilot radioed a May Day Within a few minutes they were approaching the base at 9000 feet and the men bailed out when over the Thule beacon The rescue operation is described graphically in the Thule Times of January 26 Annex II Six of the seven made it despite parachuting from that height clothed only in their regular lightweight flight gear ground temperature at the time was -32° F For unknown reasons the abandoned plane made a U-turn losing 9000 feet altitude in roughly 18-20 miles and crashed onto the ice at North Star Bay about 7 5 miles slightly South of West of the base at about 5 30 p m January 21 A very sharp explosion accompanied the crash This was followed by a large column of fire--actually a strip of fire but this could not be determined when viewed from the base The plane had been under continuous radar surveillance and hence it was recorded that a fire column about 800 meters across shot up to about 800 meters Figure II a tracing from a geologic map 0 shows the general topology of the area and the location of the crash with respect to the base and depth of the bay This part of the bay is the lower end of Wolstenholme fjord the bottom has a long boat-shaped depression blocked by a sill between Cape Athol on the mainland and Wolstenholme Island Thus if anything went through the ice which averaged 30 inches thick at the time it should drop into the deepest part of the bay and stay in the hold of the boat The crash occurred about 45 minutes after a high tide at the neap phase Figure III the tides give rise to leads in the ice and to piled-·u blocks and slip-joints at the shore line This figure not available p at this time OFFICIAL USE ONLY r· r A ql b r jtyT £ - - OFFICIAL USE ONLY - 3 - Files Subsequently it was inferred that the plane must have reached near supersonic speeds because pieces of its skin with sheared-o ff rivets and a bomb-bay door were found North of the crash point The plane probably came in at about 15° to the surface with the left wing 60° low and impacted at greater than 500 knots per hour The nose crashed back against the wing loosed the four weapons and they exploded The JP-4 fuel and heavy parts of the plane continued forward one engine rotor was found 6 km down the ice The Pu of the weapons was oxidized and aerosolized by the explosion some impacted on interior surfaces of the plane as it blew apart some was taken up in the fire column v i and some was spread forward on the ice along with the JP-4 and the residua of the plane The spread of fuel down the ice by momentum and its ignition created the fire colume v s which burned fiercely for 20 to 30 minutes with whitish flares suggesting the combusion of magnesium The fire died out after about an hour and the residual fuel carbon bits and pieces of metal and Pu02 - contaminated residua were refrozen into the surface ice which had melted during the fire This was the composition of the black streak shown on the composite photo made from 3000 feet using chute flares on Thursday January 25 Figure IV The streak subsequently was found to be about 2200 feet long and 350 to 400 feet wide No fission products were found on the ice or plane wreckage and hence the detonations were all one-point To return to the time of the crash The local rescue teams promp tly went into operation with the help of the Greenlander s a nd their dog sleds A Mr Jens Ziglersen the local factor for the DaP ish Trading Corporation proved to be the key person in this and s ubs equent work on the ice as he alone spoke the Greenlander language He mobili ze d the Greenlanders and their dog sleds and after rescuing the fliers they were the first to inspect the crash site They saw no l ife a nd nothing of any meaning to them so they returned to ba se without tramping around Major Ge ner al Richard Hunziker Chief of the SAC Broke n Arrow Response Group arrived Monday January 22 and got oper ations star ted but the Phase which prev ented our taking off from McGuir e on Ja nuar y 24 also s topped allq erations on the ice Howeve r b y the time we a rri ve d Thursday the dog teams had carried enough 4x8 sheets of p l ywood ou t to the streak area to construct a safe landing pad for th e helicopters and t o build an emer genc y shelter against s udden Ph ases OFFICIAL USE ONLY DECLASS Auth0rity NN L 5 OFFICIAL USE ONLY - 4 - Files The first problem encountered b y the Broken Arr ow cadre was t hat their standard PAC - 1S alpha-meters simply did not work at t hese t emperatures They supposedly met cold temperature specific ations of - 200 F but at - 40° F the y failed on at least three counts Hence the contamination levels at the crash site and the streak we re s ub stantially unknown until Messr s Tenney and Benedict of LRL Liv e r mo re arrived on Friday January 26 osten sibly to test the field performance o f the Fidler meters Essentially the Fidler was a lightly shielded Nal crystal with battery- powered electr on ic respon ding to the 17 kv X- rays of 239 Pu and or the 60 kv X- rays o f 41 Am After relocating the batteries under their parkas repairing some con tact s and grad u all y c old -a daptin g the instr uments the y calibrated the m aga inst kr own sources c ove red by a verage thickn ess es of snow The da rkness and cold made civil engineering virtually impossible Polaris is direct ly overhea d so the first isod ose plot of the contamina ted area was ob t a ined by selecting an arbitrary star t ing poin t and then walking r a diall y recording then umber of paces until the met er re adi ng changed a given number of units Th is res ulted in the semi qu ant itat ive 0 chart shown in Fi gu re V This fu ll y confirmed the decisions taken b y General Hur z iker on t he ba s is of a very few PAC lS readings to red - flag the streak and a zone around it As i t happened the phase winds of January 24 spre ad the contaminati on trans ve r sely and eac h succ eeding phas e en l arge d the contaminated area As s hown on Fi gu r e VI however a later r e li ab l e qua n tit a tive isod ose p lo t most of t he activity was re l ate d to the str eak A special team of weapons experts had pri ori ty in c orr bing t he area for pieces of wea pon s us i ng the dog sleds a nd helic opters The pr oblems of ex i s t ing wor k i ng moving an d u si g i nstr men ts i the dark and cold du ri ng these fi r s t t wo weeks can hardly be overstated It i s to the c r edi t of General Hunziker and Colonel Dresse r t h at n o one man was kil l ed or lost then or later Dr Langham and I arr i ved shortly before the Da isl r eam and wer e the first ranking Americans to t alk with t hem In fact we received them an d introdu ce d them a bit lat e r t o General Hun ziker The v we re Profess or J0 r gen Koch Consultant to Danish Nationa l He a lth Servi ce an d Professor of Physics Orste d I nstitute Un ive r si t y of Cope r hag er Professor Otto Mogens Kofoed - Hansen Head Phy si cs De pa rtrne t DaP ish Atomic Energy Commiss i on Ris Mr Per Grande Hea d Radiaticp OFFICIAL US E O L D Autb0rio I NhlQ O QJ OFFICIAL USE ONLY iles - 5 - Laboratory National Health Service of Denmark Dr Henri L Gj rup Head Health Physics Department Ris and Mr H Lassen Head of Division Ministry for Greenland Professor Kofoed -Hansen immediatel y began giving us a hard time about a Greenland hunter reputed to have approached the crash from the Narssarsuk area and finding nothing had gone back to his hunting Why hadn't he been found Weren't we going to decontaminate him The others looked somewhat ill at ease but nodded agreement Just as we were about to see about arranging a search General Hunziker walked in welcomed them told them chat anything they wanted would be done etc This set very well and the mood changed Shortly thereafter we went to the briefing room for the first session with the newspaper men from both Europe and America The European journalists had arrived on the same SAS plane with the fou r Danes On the assumption that it was better for the AEC not to seem to be masterminding or to b e responsible in this situation I stayed out of the spotlight I found Mr Frank Tucker of the Danish Desk of our State Department and a Brigadier General in nondescrip t wicter gear doing the same thing As it worked out General Hunziker 1 s frank situation report and Dr Langham ' s description of the biohazards of Pu were quite s u fficient Only Professor Koch s poke for the Danes He merely o u tlined their interest in determin ing the extent of the Pu contamination and of being assured that it wou ld be s afely taken care of so that no harm could come to the Greenlanders There were one or two sharp questions of a political nature f ield e d neatly b y Professor Koch and General Hu nzike r The New York Times reporter a rather impertinent mod ty pe of young man in sis ted on calling the smoke column a mushroom Professor Koch pointed out the dif fere nce and when the reporter said he preferr ed ' 'mus h room clou ' Koch told him that it was r epor ters like h im who didn't deserve to be called journa lis ts etc The Times man merel y smil ed as though he had scored The weathe r turned bad Saturday and soon the newsme n realized that t hey were accomp lishi ng little by stay i ng on in this uncomfortable clima te The y had to remain because the Phase r eached stage II and closed d own ever ything for almos t two da y s The y were happy to le ave on the first outboun d plane On the whole they reported the situa ti o fairl y b ut a few tried to make po l it i ca l ha y out of i t Curiously the Ds ish pap er that had stirred up the most political f u ror over the ac cid ent editoralized next week on how many Sovie t warships sailed th r o wg h the Kattegat with nuc lear weapons a board an d what wa ld happe n if one of them ran agr ound in the tricky waters of this nar row sea l ane -- o r col l ided with another ship OFFICTAL USE ONLY OFFICIAL USE ONLY r'iles - 6 - That evening Thursday Dr Langham and I were f u lly briefed on the situation as it was then understood but the information was scanty and imprecise In fact the crash area was able to correlate the aerial photographs taken by magnesium photoflashes with the dark streak and the distribution of the debris None of us including the Danes recognized that a hole had been blown in the ice at the north end of the streak although the question had been raised when parts of a weapon chute were found frozen into the ice of this area I tr 1mped back and forth over this area and saw only a j umb le of ice blocks and pieces of metal whereas Dr Borge Fristrup the Danish glaciologist who arrived on February 1 immediately recogni zed that the ice at the north end of the streak was newly-frozen and that the blocks of ice had been upended and refrozen in abnormal positions This was the clue that led to the suspicion that the concussi on from the four weapons had blown a hole in the ice and thereupon close study of Figure IV and an aerial infrared photo of the crash spot revealed a circular pattern of fracture lines about 600 fee t in diameter and a smaller circular area of ice that had been more severely disturbed It was obvious to all who examined the streak that this was the bits and pieces of residue of the plane and the JP-4 fuel with carbon particles and PuOz refrozen into a cruddy kind of ice the po int of impact was marked by the cracked ice 11 This black str ea k had been the base or surface for the column of fire A few heavy pieces of the plane engine rotors one landing gear and wheels were found up to six kilometers south of the dark streak indica ting the momentum vector in the crash and amply explaining how the JP- 4 fue l could be splas hed streakwise that far down the ice Some of thes e large parts can be detected as black dots at the sou th end of the screak F i gu re IV The skin tanks and structural parts of the plave were liter a ll y blown to sma ll bits few pieces larger than 2 ft 2 were to be seen and t he y had jagge d irregular torn edges Later in February when there was daylight squads of men moving shoulder to shoulder a long sur veye d sectors would pick up every possible piece of metal plastic or other debris for storage on the base and eventual r emov a l t o the s for burial The pieces frozen into t he i ce of the black s tr eak wo u ld be scraped up along with the carbo n fue l and Pu02 and stored pe d i ng burial in the U S It was General Hunziker who hy pothecated that the pla ne must have bee n close to supersonic s pe ed in order to have flown the radar - def ined course in the time ava ilabl e and therefor e it mi gh t have b eg un to shed its s kin He made ranging trips north of the point of impact in a OFFIC AL USE ONLY DECLASm Luthority NhlQ OFFICIAL USE ONLY liles - 7 - snow- cat and did find pieces of skin with clear evidence of shearedoff rivets The volume of black streak ice scraped up later came to 1 6 x 10 6 gallons which on melting gave about 3 x 10 5 gallons of a cruddy oilwater emuls i on The ice of the bay proved to contain a fair amount of entrapped organic detritus mostly a cellulose nature which also helped form this rather unstable emu lsion The next morning Friday January 26 the pattern began to be established which we fo llowed thereafter General Hunziker ordered a large room set aside for use by the Danish scientists this kept them out o f the classified traffic pattern although they had full access to General Hunziker and his staff at all times Also it was convenient for Dr Langham and me to use this room and it worked out that we pe rformed the scientific liaison between the Danes and General Hunziker as well as being their collaborators in the development of i deas hypotheses an d data Off icially we were Scientific Advisers to General Hunziker but Dr Langham doubled as Director of Health Physics a ctivities wher eas I worked with the Danes i n analyzing the bio-ecologic a l and medic al hazards and planning what shoul d be done about them Professor Kofoed-Hansen quickly established himself a s the sc i e ti f ic spokesman for the Danes it was obvious that he pos se s sed unus ua l inte llectual qualities and experienc e His normal mode o f operat i on we soon learned was to put together a tenable hypothesis a nd then say ''Prove to me that I'm wrong This position of omniscience was pec u liar ly abrasive one could not avoid wondering if there wa s an egoc entric component in the science I was able to be diplomatic a bou t his modu s ope r andi but Dr Langham and he disagreed repeate dl y Two exampl es a r e useful 1 Rather out of the bl ue he announced on Sa t urd ay Janu ar y 27 th a t he propo s ed to inspect the weapo n debris - - this wa s a f t e r a di a l ogue between himself and Dr Langham as to how mu ch Pu each wea pon c o t a i ne d and hi s having s e t t led on 2 kg 20% We s ugges t e d chat th i s pr ob abl y would not be possible wher e upon he replied t hat a f ter a ll th is wa s Da is h soil a nd he a s an of f icial repre sentative of Denma rk wa s emp owere d t o inspect a nything in Thule or shipped out o f Thu le f urth e r a l l su ch shipment s would possibly have to go via Cop e nha ge n Dr Lar gha m and I c ommunica t ed withou t words a nd le f t the rc o to see Ge e r a 1 HuDz ik e r Be fo r e we c ould find him Dr J Koch the formal le a der c f t h e Dan ish te am c au ght us in the sta f f room and s a id it wa s a l l a mi stake We l e t it go a t that In that c o ne c ti on it mu st be mad e ve r y c l ea r t h at OFFICIAL USE ONLY OFFICIAL USE ONLY Files - 8 - Professor Koch Mr Grande and Mr Gj6rup are first - class professionals in their own fields and personally most delightful people 2 On Friday morning Professor Kofoed-Hansen began exam1 n1 ng the meteorology at the time of the fire and using the data supplied by our radar - meteorology people constructed the wind vectors and inversion chart shown on Figure VII There can be no question that the Danes were sincerely concerned about the possibility of Pu getting into the food chains on which the Green landers depend And so he was interested in the dispersion of Pu02 by the fire He first put an absolute exclusion of two miles radius around the streak for all Greenlanders except the working dog teams Nex t he drew the diamond- shaped area based on Saunders Island and Thule as an exclusion area but permitted the Greenlanders to travel along the dotted lines provided they did not stop The air was stable with an inversion at 1000 meters Surface air flow was nominal 5 - 7 miles per hour to the west at 500 meters it was to the southwest and at 1000 meters moveme n t was t o the south Th u s the Pu02 carried aloft in the fire column wou ld be distrib u ted chiefly toward the southwest the Bering Strait ice Bu t if the heated air penetrated the inversion then hundreds of square miles o f mountainous land ice cap and ice in the Strait wou ld be contaminated He rejected our calculati ons of what the mean concentrations uuld be per sq u are meter we wer e taking the worst cases saying that the poten tial hazard involving the Gree nlanders their food supply and way of life had to be proved or disproved T he other Danes agreed with him although they also agreed with us that the concentrations wou ld be acceptable by ICRP st an dards They were aware of the hot - spot prob lem and when they br oug ht this up we had to agree that sampli g of s u rface sn ow and eventuall y ice cores were in order Curiously although t he Da n es were aware of t he H component of the weapon s and could estimate the n umbe r of c u ries i volve d they neve r bro u gh t this up as a hazard Possib l y the great n atural dilution capabilit y of the environmen t made 3 H a moot hazard Indeed the Pha se fr om the ESE that pr evente d our arrival on Wednesda y Januar y 24 bl e w fine surface debris and con taminated s now n orthwesterl y toward the shores of the isla n ds and the open ice A subseq uen t Pase on J an ary 28 fu rther expanded the perimeter of c on t a i nation i n t he bay _ We of course were more conce r n ed with t he pr ob able ma ssive con tami at ion i _ th e black streak OFFICIAL USE O L OFFICIAL USE ONLY 1 Files - 9 - The Danes set up a plan whereby Mr Grande and Mr Gj rup would collect snow samples along the ice and coast south and southwest of the streak We arranged for them to have the use of a helicopter and facilities for melting the snow and evaporating the water to do alpha counting using their own sophisticated equipment In a few days they confirmed that there were alpha counts in the snow but very low Their identification of the points where they had collected proved unreliable because of the darkness so they collected a good many more samples which were reported later during their visit to the u s However they found evidence of very low level Pu contamination distributed southward presumably by penetration of the inversion layer and by surface winds In no case did the contamination per square meter of area approach biological significance The total amount of Pu so distributed could not be estimated This did not satisfy Professor Kofoed-Hansen he was well aware that such levels of Pu were negligible and could never be a hazard but he kept trying to tally up the total Next he explored the possibility of Pu02 having been blown into the water of the bay at the point of impact and this becoming a hazaE • We quoted him the solubility of Pu02 in sea water as being 2 x 10 and the rJ 50 km 3 of water in North Star Bay being enough to dilute all the Pu of the weapons to well below ICRP continuously portable concentration but he was still not amenable We were careful never to bargain in any way It was difficult not to argue with him but he was clearly much better at di'alectics than L He had attended the 1964 Pugwash conference but refused subsequent invitations and according to the others was politically uncommitted Professor Kofoed-Hansen next turned his attention to the hunting procedures food habits and customs of the Greenlanders But it was obvious that he was out of his element and Professor Koch took over All of the early information was obtained from Mr Ziglersen and from the Greenlanders with Ziglersen translating Later after February 1 this information was corroborated and amplified by the arrival of four additional Danish scientists Dr Frede Hermann Hydrographer Ministry of Fisheries Mr orge Fristrup Head of Department Geographical Instituet Dr Christian Vibe Assistant Professor Zoological Museum University of Copenhagen and Dr Paul Marinus Hansen Head of the Greenland Fisheries Research Department These men were all old Greenland Hands 11 who were more explorer-naturalists than scientists like Koch and Kofoed-Hansen It turned out that they were placed in secondary roles but their information and knowledge of the area was essential for planning a monitoring surveillance program The Danes' field alpha monitoring equipment failed in the cold as badly as did our PAC-1S OFFICIAL USE ONLY - ·ff' Uj§'et jb' L -- OFFICIAL USE ONLY - 10 - Files Two technicians from Dr Gj rup's laboratory at Ris also arrived with alpha spectrometry equipment which was set up in an empty barrack This was to be used extensively during the next 6 to 8 months When we learned that the Danes intended to double their scientific personnel there was at first a thought to match them man for man General Hunziker however was aware that the Danes were primarily •nterested in ensuring the radiologic safety of the Greenlanders nd the local environs and agreed to my suggestion to bring Dr John Wolfe Chief of the Environmental Sciences Branch of DBM and an experienced Arctic ecologist to Thule He arrived shortly before the second contingent of Danes one of whom Fristrup was a personal friend This added greatly to the understanding being worked out as to what would be advisable for a sound surveillanceecological program The Danes were strong for surveillance whereas Dr Wolfe and I were more interested in the ecology of the area I felt strongly and still do that reactors are the ideal power sources for life and work in the Arctic and Thule with its facilities is an ideal base from which to conduct studies of how r actors would influence the rather simple but extremely critical items making up the ecological web by which the Greenlanders live in the Arctic Professor Koch considered my arguments for such a study hopefully on a joint basis and promised to give an answer later He answered when we met in Copenhagen in mid-February In brief the Danes did not wish to seem to be calling attention to Thule and the accident by setting up an ecological research program there--maybe later Meanwhile they would carry out studies of the Pu contamination of the environment The following is a composite-summary of information about the bio-ecology of the area gathered from interviews with Mr Ziglersen a group of Greenlanders with Ziglersen translating Danish people working on the base and lastly Drs Hermann Vibe and Marinus Hansen North Star Bay is a favorite hunting ground for the Greenlanders because the ice tends to be thin or to break into leads so that the seals can surface and hence they remain in the area the straits off shore are the last to freeze solid due apparently to an eddy created by the current flowing northward along the western shore of Greenland being turned westward by the shoulder of Greenland north of Thule and then meeting a strong southerly flow pouring out of the Kane Basin Altogether the eddy creates a favorable environment for plankton shellfish and sea life in general especially sea mammals ' OFFICIAL USE ONLY OFFICIAL USE ONLY - 11 - Files There are about 80 to 100 people living in the immediate vicinity 15 to 20 families and possibly another 100 may come 11 f h b 0 e ay h l and move on again II Not more tan h 600 Green 1 an d ers •in t stay aw i e f • t d for the entire population of this northwest corner o were estima e the Greenlander Green 1 an d The word II about has to be used because h is f ami· 1 y an d th ings ·s nomadic thinking nothing of putting norma 11 y 1 s ledge and crossing the Bering Strait to Ellesmere Island on h 1 s • C ada if the dogs are in good condition He goes where he thinks t hu ting is best his social status rests solely on his ability as a seal catcher faenger 11 The Danes have been trying to settle them in villages by offering food medical aid housing education and trade goods but with only modest success It was agreed however that the habits of the Greenlander are changing They no longer eat blubber nor use it for lamps or heating it is fed to the dogs and they use kerosene or a primus stove Their rifles increase their food gathering effectiveness so they live largely on seal meat On the other hand they will trade walrus ivory for powdered milk which they have come to love The Greenlander eats about 180 pounds of lean seal meat per year During the summer he supplements his diet with mussels birds' eggs berries and an occasional fish We go fishing in summer only to escape the mosquitos sums up their attitude toward fishing actually the polar cod the chief indigenous fish is mostly gristle and bone They catch large numbers of eider ducks auks and related species and freeze them for use during the year by dropping them into pits in the permafrost They will eat the occasional arctic fox hare ice-bear raven or ptarmigan they may chance upon And if a whale is sighted in the Strait everyone goes after it if it is caught everyone within range of the bush telegraph shows up for a gluttonous fiesta lasting up to a month The Greenlander is a compact rugged friendly intelligent individualist who will pick up new ways of doing things if he is persuaded that they will help him survive in this most inhospitable climate He seems to know that he can°t depart too far from his locas in the ecological web without courting disaster The sledge dogs are a critical component in the Greenlander's culture As long as they are in good condition and fertile he can go about his food gathering They are nasty brutes that just don't quite dare attack their master although stories were told of the dogs killing their master when he got sick and vomited or cut himself etc They are trained from the beginni g to respond to a whip or club so that the driver commands instant obedience from them The dogs decide among themselves who is leader and the order of precedence the driver has to hitch each by its_ trace in that order the leader having the longest trace and placed in the center The dogs are routinely fed frozen walrus and offal walrus meat and skin was said to be too tough for OFFICIAL USE ONLY r j l J _ A ffiq_ cy OFFICIAL USE ONLY - 12 - Files If a dog is injured or if the leader is deposed any other purpose h d h k' k' d and the carcass fed to the ot er ogs t es in it is shot s inne • b is made in o linings for mukluks The life span of the dogs is a out five years The number of animals caught and used per year at North Star Bay as given by the Greenlanders is about 1 2 3 4 s 6 7 8 9 10 Seals shot anywhere in the vicinity 1000 Walrus killed in the shallows around the two islands shown on Figure VII 75 Arctic foxes shot on land 200 Arctic hares shot on land 20 Ice-bear shot on the edge of the ice 3 White whale or narwhal Seldom Birds a Land Ptarmigan as many as possible--can't say b Migratory seabirds Eider duck little auk guillemot and long-tailed duck These nest extensively on the ledges of Saunders Wolstenholme Iganak and Ederfugel Islands and Cape Athol making this area a major rookery of the northland The birds live on mollusks crustaceans small fish and planktonic material in the waters The eggs are taken and the birds slaughtered from the time they arrive beginning in May Numbers were not estimated The Danes are trying to restrict egg gathering to a single first clutch as the birds will re-lay Fish The polar cod is eaten mainly by the seals other unnamed small fish are present but fish are not eaten Mussels The bottom is rich in various types Where the shore is shallow the Greenlanders will wade out to gather the mussels for snacks in summer The walrus' stomach contents consisting exclusively of mussels see Annex III are eaten in their halfdigested form as a special treat Plants a A small berry like a current grows on the north shore but is sparse b Moss probably lichens about an inch high grows sparsely in places where there is some soil This may end up in the Greenlanders as they eat drink the gut contents of birds foxes and hares with gusto c A low-growing plant having a profusely blooming red flower might reach man via birds hares and foxes d Arctic willow is the nearest thing to a tree or bush but very sparse Only where the sun hits directly is the permafrost melted in summer and even then only to· a depth of six inches The ground is rocky glacial moraine soil minimal OFFICIAL USE ONLY OFFICIAL USE ONLY I · Files I ' - 13 - sources of food the potential routes of With only these very f Greenlander living around North Star Bay entry of the Pu into d This minimal tightly interwoven food can be firmly identifie • net is discussed below • r food item live on clams shrimp polar cod The seals th e 1madJOt itus of the bay Annex III these animals in r • an d t h e generah e ooplankton phytoplankton and micro-organisms feed on t e z ' h turn i of seals are caught in the area a t e ring sea 1 is Three spec eds resident and caught anywhere it moves out to the ice a year-roun to main • the Strait only if the ice becomes toot h ick f or it flows in h tain a breathing hole When one is killed in the bay anot er moves into its territory as the bay is a preferred feeding gro nd b The bearded seal lives year-round on the edges of ice flows in the Strait its liver causes nausea and is not eaten c The harp seal migrates into the bay between June and September only and lives elsewhere during the rest of the year Hence where seal meat is concerned the worst case is the ring seal The liver is eaten as a delicacy and nutritionally it is a main source of vitamins The muscle provides protein and energy while the concentration of Pu in muscle would be low compared to liver the greater mass consumed might add to a significant total In the case of the seal only the Pu02 put into the bay would create a risk Taking the ICRP value of 3 x 10- 4 Ci cc of water as the 168 hour acceptable limit for human consumption it can be shown that more than all the Pu in the weapons could be put into about one-third of one cubic kilometer of bay water and the esulting solution would be acceptable for continuous consumption The bay has about 50 km 3 of water and this is constantly changed by good currents 3 miles hr tides and melting bergs and glaciers Further the solubility of Pu in sea water is about 2 x 10- 4 and if the Pu were to be concentrated by plankton it is discriminated against by the gut walls of both the seal and man each by a factor of possibly 10- 3 • For these reasons there would seem to be no hazard to man but the Danes and we agreed that the gut contents and livers of a number of seals caught during the summer should be analyzed for Pu The seal would represent the chief collection point for passing Pu on to man if the metal were present in a biologically assimilable form Also these samples would average out the range of food sources and peregrinations of the seals The migratory sea birds are the second most important food item to the Greenlander The birds live on small fish shrimps and planktonic material obtained chiefly from the open waters of the Strait When the bay ice breaks up about the first part of July the birds begin to feed from the bay or wherever the marine life is most abundant It seems highly unlikely that the eggs laid in late June would contain OFFICIAL USE ONLY r I I -C OFFICIAL USE ONLY Files - 14 - · 1 d' g the shells p but they will be examined inc u in • The top fresh l yer of droppings at the rookeries will be analyzed for Pu fish from two sources will be collected for analysis Mussels an d s h e ll h' h One will be the stomach contents of the walrfush w ic r1 prhesents1 a tration of the foot part only o t e musse t e wa rus large concen he rest Therefore mussels and others h e llf'is h wi'11 discar d s a 11 t • be collected by dredging the shallows a d also the deep pa t f t e bay beneath the-crash point Not much is known about the metabolism of Pu in these animals other than particles of Pu02 may be filtered out in the mantle and soluble Pu is incorporated into the mucopolysaccharides of the sheath of the syphon Because of the delight of the Greenlander in directly eating the liquid intestinal contents of birds and animals the droppings and or intestinal contents of each of the other animals listed above should be examined as an indicator of the Pu02 present in this part of the food chain The growth characteristics of lichens are ideal for trapping dust and aerosol and samples of these from potentially exposed locations will be analyzed In addition samples of the sea water bottom mud plankton and detritus dust snow and ice cores will be taken as further information may indicate Finally analogous control samples of the above are to be collected from possible Bylot Bay to the south and the Qanaq area to the north Control data are required because of Pu fallout from atmospheric testing and because glacial deposits may contain abnormally high amounts of minerals of the uranium and thorium series Good alpha-spectrometry is necessary to demonstrate that the alpha emitter in question is plutonium All the above were discussed freely and in detail with the Danes I saw this as a unique opportunity to examine in quantitative fashion the ecological consequences of siting a reactor in the Arctic especially as they are considering using a reactor to provide power for mining huge mineral deposit further south along the west coast But as noted above the Danes chose to conduct a minimal monitoring-surveillance program based on the data and reasoning as outlined I am still not convinced that they appreciate the meaning and utility of quantitative ecological studies OFFICIAL USE ONLY 1 Decembe ' 196 BASE HOUSING OFYICE THULE AIR BASE GREENLAND PHASE CONDITIONS AND NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES F0R TOY-PERSONNEL • FOREWORD PURPOSE To provide a readily available source of localized winter weather procedure information to all transient personnel assigned to the Thule Air · Base Thule Air Base is located at approximately 76° 30' North 68° 30' West some 690 nautical miles north of the Arctic Circle and about 800 miles south of the North Pole It is without doubt the Air Force's north most air base The· wii1t cr wcat r can be very dane erolts especially the Arctic Winter Storm The seriousness of Arct i c Winter Storms cannot be over - emphasized Protect ing lives and property during these storms becomes a problem of major proportions and is the responsibility of all personnel assigned to this area In order for the-Base Commander to implement pre - established procedures or the protecti n of life and property a method of classifying storm intensities has been · established Storm intensities are divided into four Fhase Condition Classifications Fhase Alert Phase I Phase II and Phase III The highest number representing the most serious threat to life and property will be declared to exist by the Be se Commander and announced by th Base Command Pos I via the local Radio Station TV - sta ion and PA - systco A Phase Ea h Phase condition requires all personnel to react according to s ecific procedures outlined in TABR 355 1 This is a base regulation which is osted on all Bulletin Boards If you have questions which are not answered here we will be·glad to·sup ly the answers - just ask And if there is anything else we can do to make your visit more pleasant please do not hesitate to call EXT # 7276 - fl Johannes Uhrbrand Superintendent CIV Base Housing Office __· _ __ _ - · - - I I ·l A combi nation of Wind - speed and Visibility constitute a Phase Condition 2 PHASE ALSRT A Ph tsc Alert is the initial warning to ir - plcrnent plans for tr e · protection of life and roperty 3 · PHASE I cm1DI'l ICNS ' ind 20 - 30 Knots Vis Greater than 1 2 to 3 4 miJ e • 1 Chill Index V · Ph a se I a 11 ped 2strian traffic will be in accordance with the Buddy S'-·st During itui a Buddy Syste1 i Rcferes to the practice of two or more individu ls or veh icles traveling together from one loc·ation to another 4 PHASE II CCIIDITI0 i3 Wind 31 - 50 Knots Vis Greater than 1 4 to 1 2 m i J e Chilllnclcx V During Phase II only personnel performing essential duties as dctermi_n d by the Unit Co0 m2 nder or Chiefs of Staff sections will con tin·u e to i- ork All otb r personnel will return immediately to their quarters and report the ir Fres e nt to the CQ Pedestrians will travel in accordan ce with the Buddy system Fcdestrjo ·traffic ill be _permitted o nly for nec essa ry travel between ph c e of duty q u 1 ters 9 or di n l ng halls 9 and must be authorized in each instance by the duty sup ris · Personnel rema ining on duty '1ill be responsible for notifying Base · Hou si lg Of fie -- EXT # 276 of their loc a tion a During Pha se II dining hsi lls viill continue t heir normal oi eration e J l other ·commvnity facilities will be closed 5 PH ASE III CCr· DITICNS · ind 51 Knots or more · Vis 1 4 mile or less ChilJ Index IV All personn l wi l l be acco'lnted for during Phase III Persons remaining on duty or una ble to return to their quarters will i mmediately notify Base Housing Office EXT # 7276 cf their loca tion NoTI TzR TfiAN 15 MINUTE S after th a no1 mu·ment oTa 'T III Condition Remember Failure to follow these procedures for Arctic • int er Storms can r-2sul t in frostbite or e·-1en death from freezing The most i mportan t thing to rem ember 1 Is to call gT # 7276 if you are unable to return to your quarters 2 To conta ct your CQ if you are present in your quarters If the CQ should not be pre_ sent please c a ll EXT # 7276 If you don't the Housing Superintendent or the Housing Clerk on duty will con tact the Base Commgnd fost 1 and as k for an eme rge ncy Grou nd R s ue 2c t o n t d rescue you Such an a ction will bring t h e r os cu if you a l rcc1 dy a r i n · s pl ce • DECJ A Autb0r-ity l Q Q5 r · onn el in a n ced l cso dang US AIR FORCE•AEROSPACE P WER FOR PEACE Vor XV llo 4 Thule AB GrecnlMd Jan 26 1968 Cre manbers or the USi F Sirategic Air Cocmand B-52 which crashed Sunday near Thule Air l lase Green land are re 7 to n_ arain From· his bed in the Thule Dis ensary Capt John M Haug o Phoeni 'C Arizona reaf' irmed his 1'a1th in the giant bomber and called it a very safe aircratt 11 He s dd I feel a lot sa er in the B-52 than I do on the hiwa s 11 Six Survivors of B-52 Crash Novi listed in '-'Good Condition According to F medical authorities all six survivcrs of the B-52 crash · are nott listed in 11 good 11 • PRIDE CertHic J1es A 1 mfad to r l f hn 'ho aimen assi£ned to the 8th Weather Sq h we been awarded M C I s bronze PRIDE Cert £ticf te or the period Sept through J· ov _ 1967 'thq are s t Robert P Hesser anci AlC 'Iilliarn D Richards of Det 4S Eoth airmen were cited ror a steady and sienitlcant reduction in error incidence in orerations related to their weather obaervine·work -Sgt Hesser is single and hails roe 1'tCranee Illinois while bachelor AlC Ricr ards is from Miltord ·CoMecticutt · Electronics Warfare O icer Captain P ichard E Marx or Ios Angeles Cal we s quick to reatti nn the cmmnents o t Cart Hnug and added ''As soon as the order was given to bail out our survival training came into play When we tu t the round this training made the difference between li 'e and death He -a s reterrinr to SI C's ca ndatory Cretr Survival Training Cal tain Marx's near brush with death had a srecial happy ending Tuesday when he receivtld word that his con iition · All six are in wire had given birth to a AF hos it ls underioing bahr girl Don't know trea tii ent for their in- Vihat we'll call her said jurie_s Air Force sources the hacpy Capt 11 I'll have said our of the men are to talk to 11 1 1dt'e 11 which in the Thu t e Ease liospit- he did thanks to the communications al suf er rom bruises global abrasions anct chills 'lhe system o the Air Force our are Ha or Alfred J Gunner tor the aircraft i-Amario 38 Bact Mary- SSgt Calvin W Snapp o land Cartain Richard E Morristown TeM recalls i e rx 29 Los Angeles Cal 11 that beautiful beacon Cai tain John k flaug 36 he saw as he descended in rhoenix ·Arizona and SSgt his parachute All crew Calvin w Snar P 29 Mor- members were able to ejristown Tennessee ect within sight o Thule Car tain Curtis R Criss and this was a key factor 43 Horth ·iayne Maine is in their survival In the also et Thule Hospital -32 degree tf'J lperat ire suttering ·frCJGI a dislo- and total polar darkness cated shoulder frostbite o Thule the air crew in the fingers and sev- could have survived ozt4 eral toes a limited time Even as the• aircraft The sixtr aurvivor V aj·or Frank F Hopkins JS wreckage was still burnDodr e City Kansas is at ing persoMel at the Aer Andre s AFB Har l d os aee Defense Cc ne nd Base Hospital suffering Base were heginnil g a tro111 a broken arc a d massive air and ground minor frostbite search 11tvolving_ dogs eds aircra 't and tracked snow vehicles Jens Zinglersen· of the Royal Greenland Trade Department has been credited ld th pla vir1 1t a major role in the rescne Zinglersen organized dogsled teams to aid in thesearch for survivors acted as interpretor between the U S Team and Greenland Eskimos and was the first to arrive at the sLccident scene In spite of the severe weather conditions · six of the seven cre men were rescu Continucd· n Page 4 f 1ir ljn33 G' i'C11 rnm1 ltmtl9d _ 1'1 CO J i Public recognition was the order of the da v during Cornt1ander' s Call £or the 468 3ABG llCO' s on Monda v Air Force Commendation Medals were awarded to SSgt Richard A Hoyle and SSgt Hunter by §q Commander Lt Col is'aul F Molloy SSgt Jess C Morales was the recipient or a Certificate of Merit from the Systems Coll ll1apd for his outstanding performance o duty 'hltile assigned Det 1 AF Satellite Control Facility 6594th Sup ort Group His 'Wife Anmi son Bernd and daughter Sharron reside at 34 84 Mt Prieta rive San Jose Cali · Sgt Benjamin Del C stillo and Ai nnan Jerry A Frieson were given Certificates of Achievements or attaining 9cgpercentile scores on their res ective SKT 1 s Syt Del Castillo's 'Wi e Melinda and their two children Anthoney ·and Diana live· _at 858 1-tohawk Dr Livermore Call 5Sgt Hoyle received his c ed l b aistinguisr-ing hir sel while functioning as an J nstructorad cuurs a Continued on Page 4 Jan 26 1968 TUUU Tlf 1ES B-52 _Crashes in Bay Thttle Air Base over Ba f Contin ed fro n Pae e l · ed within 20 hours ot the fµ Ba v In addition to the 4683 crash Last inan to be rescued J ir Be se Group units after 20 hours in the participating · in ·the snow was Ca t Curtis R search included Det 1S Cris·s II of lJorth l·la -ne Eastern Aerospace R eue and P ecov ry Center Maine Capt Criss the navigator11was found wrap- J laska 'l Air Cor ur and 51 th ped in his par4chute at Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Sq Pease Al-'3 1 H 1 30 p m Jan 22 Monday The t ody 0£ the seventh H Car e Athol Coast Guard crew member ras also re- Station SiF nal P esearch cove·red Unit 7 U S Army Hq US The aircraft assigned AF Det 220 Fhilco RCA to the 380th Bomb Wing and Federal Electric CivPlattsburgh AirForce Base ilian Contractor personN'ewYork 11 craehed on the nel Danish Construction· ice of florth Star Ba v11 ·· Corporation employces and · s01ne seven miles south- Gree nlanders of the Thule west or the 'fhule runway Area It 1- as approaching for an ' emergency landinR after having declared an ccia -gency because of a fire 1n the navigator's com- Glnerholm Pauor Fodersplel Kurt Wlcth Sproso Norby Asbforn A Paullne Schu1n1nn iiartr ient and intense Slllo e in the aircraft c_j 1 An Air rorce investigat- All 11a - ce are on the ADC Pross Service's calendar girl Usehi F ronounced 1100-she Keszler who performs in the 1968 Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies s 1965 Gerrna 'T figure kating champion cuts a pretty figure no matter where she performs Late Evening Viev1ing From AFRTS It 15 A Small World - To- n the pains of growi ne up night -The late Spencer Ethel Waters and Brandon Tracy• stars in this roir an- DeWilde co-star tic comedy about love do in Y arco Polo - Feb 2 An South • Rogues £ Sherwood est - Saturday The son or9Robin Hood springs into action John Derek i the hero The Jackc-ot - Sunday A tunny Jimn y Stewart opus He wins a radio-q• 1iz jackpot and then the trouble starts Blondie Fe rare - nday- Dagwood taVe'scharge of a biy account at the office and she's a blor de J ichael Sb vne Private Detective d a y The hero is Llo rd olan who I s got a urder on his hancs tots of good clean - you Me n er of tr ' edding - Thursday Julie Harris is a your r girl filled with I -UW O ZS Ci CW' I -r i t - J a n ' - G 1n 1 vblt se11 V a ldigc 1lo9smal hell i amcri-• kansk wcslern- lil llro11e11 1 Lind Vzldlg apa nd ndo • masscopbud of forva og notunce n erior Bjom Raffllwsen • • CO Call action-packed tale of the • • explorer ¥ho brought back Continued from Page l · gunpowder with all that - writer for Course ABR silk and stuff Rory Cal- 647JO suppl y at 1 ariJ lo hoW1 stars as Y arco AFB Texas during the f 2 - know what inr team is currentl y at Thule Th cause of the accident has not been deten rliled · The pilot diverted frorr nonr al · fiight to Thule Air Daso the nearest airfield due to an infiight emergenc r At that time he waf SO mil 3S south of - DANISH MOVIE--This week's Danish Movie is entitled G cfngehpvdingen 11 It is set in the 16th Century but will be shown at the period 15 roveml er 1965 · Base Theater tomorrow at to 31 Au Ust 1967 His 8 a m and ll p m Eric Ho 'fer Passionate wife 1- ttie is waiting for State of Mind SPECIAL A hiln e t 613 So Retta Ft study or the philosophy of orth Te -us SSgt Hunter s hieved his a unique individual reported by Eric Sevareid See 'l · recognition t nila assigned Lunch is served ror 1 ll onday at 7 p n to the 750th Radar Sq Boron Air Force Station a m until 2 p m in the Dean • rtin Show on ai- California rom l Oct NCO Open Hess day at 9 p m - Din0'11 pals 1966 to 31 Au ust 1S67 Monda - Chicken Fried are Petula Clark Don Ric- P is meritorious service ·Steak d Heat l o f kles and Roy Rogers a d es rersonnel TecrJ1ician Tuesda -Spaghetti with Dale Evans Lots of song included complete reorg- · Meat Balls and F- ot Roa st and run anization of the Person- Beef Sandwiches nel Section and-eliminatl·iednesd1 y- -v1 na Heat Bell Telephone Hour ion of deficie t areas Loaf and uikse ad withEeg on Tuesda7 at ·7 p The Lottie his l l fe a d Thursday - __ - ued Pork sh is devoted to Rc eo their three sons Rand r Chops and Chile Con Carne and his Juliet as w-e see Veto and Te1·1- · reside at Fep 2 - Shrimo asket it perfon ed in difCer Jl-D Uest Se cour Drive Fried Fish rortion and ent ways ' Goldsboro M C Fried Chicken AFTV Highlights r-----DEIDM • - ·-- A t -- - 1 j · l r-1- 1 lN· _ -· · u -J r - - e L1mcheon SpsdaJs 0 - tr n '1 e c· _LJ L_ - ·· or Survey the distribution of the most important food clements on· Walrus Bearded Seal Ringed Seal Narwhal and v'hitc Whale in the Thule district l Cardiwn 1 llya Saxica •a illacoma • Astar t• Wah·us Buccinum Crmimaria Psollls Rossia Lycodicfoc • Bearded Seal Collidae f Ampll i_oaae Ringed Scol Wbitc Whale _____ lJ1·ca1 ndat' ___ I l it Cul ls_ uml _ _ llriulwrtfI ws I ip 1'11 w id · I urwhul --f - As it will uppcur from the ah m lnhl1• llu• 'ulr1111 ii Llw only one feeding on hin1ln•s whic·h praclirally Hl'l' its on - food snurt e The Bea1· lcd Seo I foods on cn•Q·lhing 1•xr-1 pL just mw scl so thut llwsc two important o ninials do not c 11m111•tt• Thi• Heai· ll•tl l'al on t hc other hand is tho only uno N1ti11g the hi llw·cim1111 a -1trupnil whi1 h l'l' ll'Csent part of its most important fo111l ilPm Thr Hingl'•l SL•al will feed N Uully often on o mphipotl 1 1 -1lirimp 1 uncl l'ohu· Cntl uc l'or1li11g lo its plurc or occurrence Tho arwhal frl•cl on lu·imp -1 1 Polar Coll antl Grl'l nlantl Halibut and the While 'halo i mti sfictl with tlw two la st mentionccl species _ This table should of eoursC' only bl l'Cgtmlell as a survey from which grnater or smalkr dL•viations can tak1• place according to season 1 Berr-ies if a c iniw u J iginosun ErrLpetru ' l ni •- _· · tittle Aul Polar Ced Arctic Fox Blvalves loop lan l ton t - hytoi 'l ·1 kton Crusta e011 _ Cottus sp J ·✓ ti b-j JJr · t 1 frp · t J I Ji -r b I Kk 2 1'1 Annex IV MEMO OF PROGRESS OF DISCUSSIONS WITH DANES ON MONITORING-SURVEILIANCE OF NORTH STAR BAY Prepared by H D Bruner at Thule January 31 1968 With the immediate aspects of the health hazard of the accident known and under control two of the members of the Danish ScientificInvestigative Team J Koch 0 M Kofoed-Hansen have turned their attention to the long range health-ecological problems that they anticipate They focus on the potential contamination of the natural food supply of about 200 Greenlanders resulting from the melting of the contaminated ice of North Star Bay and its introduction into the food chains The Greenlander is a nomadic hunter faenger whose culture is based on hunting Calculations based on International Committee on Radiological Protection standards indicate that if more than all the weapon plutonium were to be distributed into a cubic kilometer of the bay water that water would be fit for continuous consumption by a population Although this calculation is accepted the Danish Team would wish to have zero Pu contamination of the bay and the team has been taking a fairly hard line toward this such as scraping up the contaminated layers of ice and snow and doing something with it They were fully aware of the Palomares clean-up operations It is still to be determined whether small amounts of Pu were deposited on the snow on the headland to the south or on the islands to the west by the fire column and or subsequent winds But because Pu may conceivably get into the several food chains we have been looking into what can and should be done Arriving shortly are additional Danish Consultants Dr Vibe Mammalogist Dr Martin-Hansen Fish Specialist Dr Hermann Oceanographer Dr Fristrup Glaciologist Presumably they will be able to provide data on various aspects of the environment so that we can better estimate the possible alpha contamination of the population via the food sequence Regardless of cleanup or anything else they will probably insist on a food surveillance program involving analysis of Pu in bay water in seals in migratory birds the island on the west of the bay is a major arctic rookery in the walrus in mussels and the polar cod and in the occasionally caught whale polar bear ptarmigan arctic fox and hare The minimal requirements for such surveillance would be several clean dissection rooms and space for the sampling equipment Pu extraction equipment and the special detector systems for Pu r·· ------- ·· w h l Ui - - 2 - but all that can be accomplished easily The collection and sampling must be carried out in a preplanned controlled fashion if the data are to be trusted The base can provide these facilities but Danish people will probably want to carry out most of the program we might wish to analyze aliquots This might continue for three or four years depending on how often a trace of Pu is found in a sample Such surveillance programs generally end up raising many more questions than they are intended to answer Therefore it should be planned and organized as a first-class quantitative investigation into this relatively uncomplicated ecological web that concerns man depending chiefly on sea mammals Such quantitative data do not seem to be available they will be needed if reactors are sited in the arctic By curious coincidence Denmark plans to build one somewhere in the southern third or half of the west coast of Greenland In summary some agency of our government probably will have to take scientific and fiscal responsibility for a cooperative study with Denmark of the total ecology of this area into plutonium as a contaminant Annex V MEMO REGARDING POSSIBLE SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM THAT MIGHT BE CARRIED OUT BY THE DANISH GOVERNMENT TO ASSURE THE SAFETY OF THE THULE INHABITANTS Prepared by H D Bruner at Thule February 2 1968 I Premises a There are probably no more than 80-100 Greenlanders in the immediate vicinity of North Star Bay There are probably less than 600 who might be involved if they were all to come visiting as they are in the habit of doing b The Greenlander is a hunter not a fisher His status is determined by his ability as a hunter He does not eat fish except under pressure c The Greenlander male of 80 kilos of lean seal used at Thule man saves fiscera except the liver here weighs about 125 pounds and consumes an average meat per year 180 pounds All the seal is the pelt and gives the blubber flippers and to the dogs About 1000 are killed per year d The diet is supplemented when possible by the flesh and eggs of the eider duck auk guillemot squaw duck and ptarmigan in about that order The number killed is not clear but it is appreciable e The walrus is hunted here mainly for his ivory although the flippers may be boiled and the stomach contents chiefly the foot of pectin bi-valves may be taken for a delicacy Almost 75 are shot The meat is given to the dogs f During summer mussels are dug at low tide clear but are not very much The amounts eaten are not g Fox meat polar bear meat and ravens may be eaten but they are going out of favor They have to be boiled to hell and gone before they can be masticated They are scavengers and range widely h The Arctic hare is eaten with pleasure but only 20 or so are killed per year They eat the vegetation found on soil on the mountain sides and valleys i Only very rarely is a white whale or narwhal killed widely up and down the coast of Greenland It ranges - 2 - II Probably Valid Assumptions a There are some 50 cubic kilometers of salt water in North Star Bay whereas one cubic kilometer of bay water would be more than sufficient to dilute the Pu02 from all four weapons to below MPC for continuous oral consumption b The major contamination area of the bay lies above the mid point of a glacial trench 625 to 750 feet deep becoming shallower at each end The tide was one hour after high of the neap phase and the currents mild Anything which penetrated probably is in the trench and will tend to stay there c The high storm winds on the surface of the bay and the adjacent mountains will blow contaminated snow onto areas not originally contaminated On the bay the winds tend to blow it toward Baffin Strait and open water where the seal hunting area is If the fire column dropped Pu02 over onto the land the Pu02 ought to accumulate most in the niches where there may also be soil supporting sparse vegetation The soil is underlain by permafrost and the surface water tends to run off before the surface soil loosens during summer d The Danish Government has a very paternalistic policy toward the Greenlanders and appears determined to look out for their interests as much or more than they would for themselves e Not having much experience in contamination control the Danes will probably attempt many things in the way of protective surveillance a good number of which will be waste motion f The Danes are knowledgeable and competent as to conventional laboratory radiation biology and health physics but they are not strong in modern dynamic ecology g It is expected that we shall help them construct a sound surveillance program and no doubt help in other ways h The scar area with its black impregnation and the cracked circle will probably melt faster than the surrounding ice This may be fast enough to melt out the area entirely and drop the remaining Pu and debris into the water of the bay There may be natural concentrations of uranium or thorium daughters in this area in excess of possible plutonium contamination The closeness of Thule to the polar stratospheric-trophospheric exchange may also be a source of extraneous contamination Evidence has already been obtained that snow on Thule Air Force Base has non-plutonium alpha contamination - 3 - III Recommendations a on the can Following cleanup of the pieces and bits of the plane now going there will be a period of two and a half to three months before ice breaks up in which surveillance studies on the bio-environment be carried out These probably will not provide much useful information but the Danes correctly feel that they must protect the local population by surveillance of the food chains b Extensive discussion of the food and hunting habits of the Greenlanders with the natives themselves and Danes familiar with the natives indicate that the following food chains could contribute the most significant data 1 The detritus-plankton to shrimps and fish to the seal to man The point of attack so far as man is concerned is to determine levels of Pu in the contents of the lower colon and feces The liver gall bladder and mesenteric lymph nodes would be checked if Pu appears in the gut contents in appreciable amounts If the animal is collected so as to avoid all contamination of its pelt the pelt may be checked by alpha survey meter If Pu does enter the body on a long-term basis it will localize in bone Skeletal muscle should have a concentration about two orders lower In short it is highly unlikely that the muscle of the seal could be a source of transfer of Pu to the Greenlander unless the physiology of the seal is completely different from other mammals If Pu is found in the gut the liver should also be monitored before being eaten 2 The plankton-algae-detritus to duck to man or the duck egg to man The droppings of the ducks roosting and nesting on Saunders Island and at other rookeries can be monitored in situ by use of a standard alpha-probe counter If alpha activity is detected in the fresh feces last year's droppings should be checked as well as droppings in rookeries outside the North Star Bay area If the feces of the ducks are radioactive then individual ducks and their eggs should be sampled The gut liver and flesh can be analyzed for Pu rather than the whole animal If captured cleanly the plumage should be monitored with an alpha detector Other migratory species such as the little auk can be similarly tested 3 Mussels to man The mussel although consumed in limited amounts is important because it is dug out and eaten directly by the Greenlander and because it has a mantle mechanism for filtering and retaining - 4 - particulates such as Pu02• These can be dug up from the fla s at low tide and analyzed directly for Pu The results will give an estimate of the distribution of Pu02 particulates in the area as well as the possible presence of Pu02 in the food of the walrus which now is eaten only by the sledge dogs in this area 4 No other food chains are of sufficient importance in the diet of the Greenlander to warrant the time and expense of study at present S Sampling of animals should be recognized to be a random statistical procedure and the collection of animals and the interpretation of the data made on that basis c Because there are no reliable data on the movements of water in North Star Bay the area should be instrumented to obtain current and flow data in selected areas of the bay while the ice is still present to provide a platform An instrument such as the Richardson Recording Current Meter should work in this environment IV The ecological research program set up to supplant this monitoringsurveillance program will require data such as the above in order to know which groups of biota can be studied most profitably • In any case the surveillance program should have a well defined plan for termination as soon as possible l I FIGURE I DAYLIGHT-DARKNESS CHART FOR THULE DA1fH I Slf-IlT- DARt NlESS CHA RT THULE NJ Gruml'lL iND FIGURE II SKETCH MAP OF THE POINT OF THE CRASH IN NORTH STAR BAY WITH CONTOURS OF THE BOTTOM AND LOCATION OF THE ICE CAP AND GLACIERS fl d jl • --- -- - - -- - - - - - '-0' ' _ -- - cc• o•· - i · · ·- -'•' - - ·U J · - -r' 'TM'' _ ' -- - ' 4 ·- _ p e - ' f if Md % 12 KIO I o 9 0 h 12 lo g 12 0 11 g 0 I •l '12 0 --1 T-I •2 •Ir-· 0 t -_ --· -1 0 I - -- - I ll 9 13 3 IZ •'tt--· --- I •l ' 'S '2 ' L l 0 if 9 12 •I 0 I -' · 1% 12 _j__ 0 I I •J ----- 1- 3 L '% J_r L -' _ ---' 12 -------f··· I 0 • 0 I ' ' z 0 1- 1 i I I I t l i- l½tl t l -f ' rt•'- t z 11 - b · I • I -1-· I 'Tl H C 0 o I i --'·· __ -z3i - -- T trl _ --J H H H •3 - - o 2 j _ ·--- - · I g · - --l----- o s ·-----·l-··- ·2 9 j s 2 26 9 0 I 0 -I I I 2 0 0 12 0 · l - I -- •1 3 9 -- -- - - -- - ID c 12 -· 1 0 -- 12 ··- -----j-- 0 -·-4 ° -i 12 2• -·1•1t --- I - •3 I 1 - I t- II L -- --'·--·· _ J - I Flodb0l9ens Forl0b i Thule ¥9 - 2 io 1932 J' sCJ 3_1velse rne Mkl pa a 60° W Fig R i r f --0 2_• -- ··--- ·------•--- ' Cl t-3 ► I I l' rj -·-r 22 9 'f --· 2 'g 1- 3 C 0 I t t l t· j 12 - ·• I I H b I t trl I 2% ·- L -- - I 2 I ti'' __l ___ _J 0 FIGURE IV A COMPOSITE AERIAL PHOTO OF THE BLACK STREAK TIP POINTS A LITTLE WEST OF SOUTH THE FINGER-LIKE A RETICULAR AREA OF CRACKED ICE AT THE NORTHERN END RELATES TO THE EXPLOSION TINY DOTS OF BLACK AWAY FROM THE STREAK ARE LARGER PIECES OF DEBRIS r•- --- - -•- -P ••• -- - •- •• --- -- ' i · • l FIGURE V THE FIRST ISODOSE CHART CONSTRUCTED BY COUNTING THE NUMBER OF PACES REQUIRED FOR REDUCTIONS OF ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE AWAY FROM THE ARBITRARY STARTING POINT USING THE FIDLER INSTRUMENT NOT $90T S ZOO TO ZOOOP i 2 MOT $POTS SURFACE WIUD Dl ECTIO» ON 24 JAN is P tASE I AND ON 28JAN 8 CPHA EU NOT SPOTS 75 h 1 TO 2000 F' CES 0 $CALE 500' to I OUT TO I too PACES C I so ► 1 700 PACE$ HOT SPOTS ZOO TO 3000 4i 7tri OUT TO 2 300 PACES I '