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Assistant Administrator for Environment and Safety BOXNO. 54F 6 Energy Research and Development Administration . A s you know, by copy of Ed Hardy’s letter to me of 7-6-76, the repeated. plutonium analyses on the urine samp1.e~ of people living on Bikini obtained last April again showed about the same lc vel s as previously reported in his letter of March 26, 1976. Disturbing also was the finding of siinilas low levels of plutonium in the urine s of. ’ residents of Rongelap Atoll. One wonders i f perhaps people livirig in other areas of the Marskalls, not directly invclved i n the fallout, might also show increased I.evels because o f proxiin-i’iy t o ~hc-.provine grounds. We intend to check this. larger urine samples froni individuals on Bikini and also pooled. sampl-es from Bikini as well as Rongelap, Uti rik and Wotje from the latter atolls on the Septeniher survey. etc. obtained in April on Bikini are still in progress here. I n the meant.ime we are collecting Analyses of other sainples of dust:, water, foods tories, Dept. of Interior, saying that he had received word from. their. solicitor \;rho had been i n Plajuro (liars hall Islands)stating that he heard reports there that plutonium had been detected in the urine s of the Bikini people. pec t that George Allen,the lawyer for the Bikini people, will be happy to use the informztion, t o emharrass us. report was true but pointed out that people a11 over the world have some plutoniuili in their urine s iizcluding peoplc in New York. and that we had not been alarmed since the levels were low but that Tic were carrying out continuing investigation of this finding. Now that we have confirmatory evidence of this finding I would recommend that you write a letter to the Iam not sure where they got the information. I sus1 admitted t o John that the Department of Interior with regard t o the matter. d A s suggested i n my letter of ?lay 27, 1976, you may wish to consider organizing a meeting with cx pert s in thc field to advise us with regard - to this problcin. io iii os