Document text
Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.
Page 1
Department of Energy Brookhaven National Laboratory Upton, New York 11973 On June 19, 1978, the third hearing was held before the Interior and Related Agencies Subcommittee, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives , on Bikini resettlement. Representatives of the Kili Council and a resident of Bikini Island, Mr. Jendrik Leviticus, reported there was confusion about what appeared to them to be conflicting statements on the safety of Bikini and Eneu Islands made during your April visit to Bikini Atoll compared with statements of a later visit by High Commissioner Adrian P. Winkel. The Committee’s subsequent quest~oning dealt with what the Bikini residents. were told about the acceptability of Bikini and Eneu Islands as resident islands and about restrictions on eating local foods such as coconut, who told them, and when they were told. Answers to these questions corrected the error in the statement of Tomaki Juda, copy enclosed, indicating the High Commissioner’s visit was less than o~e week after your am. The sequence of events of the last several months including the appearance of new data on Eneu coconut radioactivity levels- from Lawrence Livermore Laboratory which occurred just prior to the Subcommittee’s May 22, Hearing, were reviewed. These were discussed in the context of the times of the two field visits and there seemed to be an understanding of how the recommendations against use of Eneu as an alternative to Bikini came about. Nevertheless , Chairman Yates asked, and we agreed to provide, a statement of what the Bikini residents were told by the DOE team during the April 1978 visit. Presumably, this will be included in the record of Dr. Burr and I have agreed to ask you to provide this information inchtding
Page 2
Territorial Affairs, Department of the Interior. Copies of the statements suTm_itted by Mrs. Van Cleve and by Mr. Winkel, and a coPY of a letter to Mrs. Van Cleve from Dr. Liverman are also enclosed for your information. Ass “ ant Director for Field Operations Division of Operational and Environmental Safety