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Nevada Operations Office Trust Territory of the Pacific This letter is from the chiefs and all of the people in Utirik Atoll. lt has now been twenty-two years since the radioactive fall-out frofithe bomb, which has clisturbedthe peace and welfare from 195’4until the present. The doctors from ERDA have told us that there were 14 rads in Utirik and 175 rads in ilongelap, therefore, we are very surprized, because in Utirik we have ten cases of thyroid nodules, three of which were mali~nant. Gut in lRon~elap they have thirty cases of thyroid nodules, and also three casds of malignancy. Perhaps you can tell us if there is some ex@anation for the same number of mal.i~nant thyroid cases in Rongelap and Utirik, who received very different levels of Additionally, we have many more things to ask, because at present we are not happy with the way things .axxe: Why is there not a control group in Utirik? The people of Utirik are difierent from the people of Rongelap--they are a different gene pool and breeding population. The people of Utirik were exposed to different levels of radiation than the people of iion~clap---Utirik had I-4rads, and Rongelap had 1’75rads. There were different return tjmes for the Utirik people and the Ronselap Of Utirik returned to their atoll after three months, and’the people of Ronzelap returncclto their aholl after three years. Noulclit be co~rect to say that perhaps the Utirik people received more than only 14 rads in light of their quick return time to Utirik? ilouldit be correct to say that we can expect many more cases of.thyroid problems in the future? How come the ERDA doctors tolclus that there was just a little bit of radi.ati: in.Utirik and a lot in Goncelap? That is, why arc there the same m.xwber of mali~n.ant th~yroidglands in Utirik as there we in ilon~elap? Hhy is it that the “~A doctors do not examine the children of the exposed \lhyis it that the LRDA doctors give different treatment to the people of Utirik than the people of Ron[;elap? ‘hey do not give full examinations to the people of Utir~.lcevery year, as they do in ~ton~elap~ ihy not? The people of Utirik should be able to choose their own cloctorz. ‘l’hepeople of Utirik do not like Dr. ~mudscn because he does not examine all of the Ut:kik people, and 100IcGat tile people of Utirik as if they are merely animals in a scientific experiment, and further, he does not provide a Ilsic]:cfl].11for the peOplC. The people of Utirik do not like Dr. Com.rd because he lies to the ‘::, people, and !Iasnot helped the people to understand the problems /’
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that they confront in re~ards to the radiation and its effects. 60 some years a~o, the IHID.4doctors discovered that a number of tileUti.ril: people had adult-onset diabetes, and said that 2~j~of the people had tile a) lfl~yhaven’t tlw ERDA doctors Civerrmedicjne to the people uho have the the medicine (Diabinase), and Uley refused to Cive him any for tile people of Utirik, and therefore, the people with this disease have not been properly treated. 7. At present, the people of Utirik have much fear of the radiation that c:ole Therefore the people of Utirik feel the need to have sorl~conecorleout and do a study of Utirik for possible lin~erin~ radiation. The people of Utirik feel that their arroimoot has been d~ama~edas a As you can see, the people of Utirik are very result of the radiation. The people feel that the Msto Ad. Oscar lJcljriMl,i,xr~tl:llls distressed and an~ry as a MDA ??ro~ram is in need of ‘J?hank you very much,