To the Chiefs and All People in Utirik Atoll.

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ENERGY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPF,'lENT ADMIN IST RAT IO N To the Chiefs and Al.1 PeoDle ir. Uti rik Atoll Your letter toMr. Roger Ray, dated July1976,has been received by this office.I wish t o thank you forse ~ idin gt his letter and bringing your vie vs to my attention.I have carel ' ully considered your vievs, as presented in your letter, and appreciate the opportunity to answer your thoughtful questions. Even today, there are many facts about radiation that are not known, despite the large number of scientists that have studied this subject for more than 30 years. Even less vas known about radiation in 1954 at the time of the exposure of the people on Rongelap and Uti rik. radiation at that tine, and using their best jud v.ent, the Pmerican doctors estimated that the people of Utirrlc wre exposed to only a sinall amount of radiation. agreenient an0r.g the doctors and they told tlic Uti rik p z ople that they would not,in the future, show any ill effects caused by radiation. Also, the relatively low levels of radiation at Uti ril r soon diminished sufficiently to permit the pecrple tore tu yn to their atoll before some. of the other popul.attons. Rongclap, on the other hand, was nore heavily cont min nt c rl with radioactivity so the people of this.island had to live elserlzhere for ,?bout Hence, there was general

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o f exposed parc nts have been studied cl.::;?wherc. l:orie of tlicne i t was expected that the health of t1hi.s group.of cli il drc n of disease from exposure,indicating that their exposure must have been considerably less th sn the people of Rongi?l,>i island, There to the children ' s thyroid TJhich Is hall address later in tiris Following the return to the island, it_vas dec.i.dad that continued medical examinations of the exposed pc?op!.c o f GTtirik ~ e r ~t obe done. Such examinations were conducted a t regu1:;r intervals to assure that they had not been harmed. Examinatton-s were dcne . i n 1357, 1959, 1.963, 1966, 1969,1972 arid 1975. iiriring tile past six years,thyroid examinations were dxe and sic:;; calls vesz held every year in add it io ii to complete physicnl. c:arninatfons. Also, for the past several years, Arwrican doctors have visit fd Uti rike very three months.

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is not surprising that, with the information then available,thyroid disease vas not expected in the Uti ril c people. is that only very recently information became available from several soui-res that the thyroid gland,especially in children, is considerably more .,jc:i1sitivc to radiation than was anticipated in 1954. Taking these f2ctor s together, we believe now, many years later,that the thyroid cancers in the Uti ril c people were probably caused by radiation. A t this tine .i:;e sre notable to predict whether more cases are t o b e c:i1>l.>cted inthc exposed members of the Uti rik population. It is, therefore, of the greatest importance that the regular medical examinations he continued in the future. By having regular medical exarcinations, signs of thyroid disease can be detected early and. prompt treatment will avoid unnecessary suffering on the part of the lj ti rik people. For these reasons,I believe it is of great importance that the 1-eadcrs of the people of Uti rik explain to their people the purpose and the importaiicc of the regular medical examinations. Even more important Many people living in the ? .far shall Islands District suffer from diabc'ies. During the visits,the doctors from ERDA have tried to learn more about this disease so that they could better treat the people. Kc)tall doctors agree about the kinds of medicine t o be used for treatment.I feel confident that the treat nen t used by Cr. Fnudsen, aid as recommended by an expert in this disease, will.benefit th cUt i rik people that suffer from this disease. With regard to yo:ir concern about the arrow-root plants,I have no re;.!aon t o bcl.ieve that the reduced size of the plants is caused by radiation.1say this because from what is kno m about radiation e ffcc ks in plants,the levels of radiation on Uti rik are far too low to cause plsut. damage. and t:i:uc!.sen, and during the past year, I)r. Kotrady.

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In view of this,I am greatly surprised to learn about the apparent d is pleas ux eun the part of the people of Uti rik as expressed in your 1ett:e:c and more recently about your request that Dr. Rnudsen lcave yorli: isl.nnd. A possible explanation for this difference in the feeli:1ss for Drs. Conard and Knudsen may be a misunderstanding on the part of your people as to the role and reasons for these doctors to (:me to the islands.I would like to repeat that it i s my film conviction that the principal concern of Drs. Conard and Krrud..:en i s tlic welfare and well-being of all of the people whom t.hcsy visit. Some misunderstanding could result because of the, difference between our languages. Again, I would appeal to your leadership 33.3 your teachers to impress upon those who had the mis for time to be exposed to radiation the importance of the medical continue to receive the best medical care and treatment that we axe able top xvi de. Together with this letter Iam sending you a copy of "A Twenty-Year Rcvie1.7 02 Ke d ical Findings in a Marshallese Population Accidentally cof.lccted dui:i1lG the period from 1954to 1975 as well as more Ic tei led information of the findings in the past five years. The fin clings in this report are of great importance in that they have hr?lpcd the : : cie nti st in their understanding of the effects of been posrj.Lt\J.e through continued cooperation from you and your people I vaut j'oa to how that this contribution by you and your people 113s liclped the vell-beir.g of all people in the world. Irc gret dec ply that I cannot attend this meeting. have. asked Dr. Villi am Burr, my Deputy, to read,this letter. 0ni.y then can you and I be assured that they will This report contains the data Collecting the information in this report: has only