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Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.
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Clerk of the Marshall Islands Nitijel.a Post Office Box 24 Jlajuro, llarshall Islands 96960 I wish to acknowledge on behalf of Secretary Andrus, the receipt of the certified copy of Resolution No. 15 N.D.-1 of the Nitijela, “A Resolution requesting the Government of the United States of America to immediately conduct a radiological survey in the Marshall Islands.” I fee-l constrained to point out that paragraph 4 of this resolution makes a very broad and sweeping statement, that as far as I am aware of, is not borne out by recent radiological data. This is the statement, “Whereas, recent radiological data{ accumulated by the lJnited States Government indj.cates an extraordinarily high incidence of apparently radiological induced physical. disorders among Marshallese residents, outside what wa:; origina,l.ly thought to be the range of contamination caused by the nij~l~ar explosions at !3ikini and Enewetak; particularly, on Likiep Delegation was here in Washington, it raised this question with respect to Likiep Atoll but the question rested not on “resent radiological data accumulated by the Unitecl States”, but rather on clata collected by a Marsh:ill. Islands Likiep survey team and presented to the Department of Energy ancl to our Department by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs for t}le Marshall Islancls Government, Mr. Anton De13rum, at a meeting here on May 16, 1979. This Department and the Jlepartment of Energy assured Nr. De13rum that priority attention would be given to the request that a medical survey be conducted of the people of We will discuss the other aspects of the resolution, i.e., Lhe portions requesting a radiological survey of the Northern Marshalls, with the Department of Energy. It appears to me that most, if not all, of this requesk may have been met by the recent radiological survey conducted on Dr . Walter Weyzen, DOE, with copy of
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results of the Nout_he~-ni!larshallsRadiological Survey will be available bj7 llid-iJuly. You may be dssured that the Nitijela will ueceive copies of any report issued by the Department of Energy. In any event, both this Department ant! the Department of Energyr have pledged to work closely with the new government of the Marshalls on tl~e question of radiological matters and we will be in constant touch with Local. government. RUTH G. VAN CLEVE