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Joint Comnittee on Atomic Energy Congress of the United States We wish to report the latest information concerning the ~zdical status “ of the llarshallese exposed to the fallout from the March 1, 1954, test Diagnoses made by Dr. Robert Conard of 13rookhave; National Laboratory at his annual medical reexamination Lhis sprirlg prompted bringing five Ifarshallese and an interpreter stateside for definitive treatment. They arrived week before last, received their preoperative medical work-up at the Iiedical Center of Brookhaven Nztional Laboratoryz and transferred to the Cleveland Ifetropolitan General Hospital for surgery Details of the present status of the affected lfa~shallese are shot)n in the following tabulation which recapitulates past medical thyroid 1 to 8 years of 2ge. (Estimated dose: 175 rads external gziixa 21US 600 to ‘1400 rem internal irradiation.) 1. currently normal by c1511ic21 znd biochemical tests. 2 (11X) 2. Currently hype! >yroid vith minimal modularity. Responding satisfactorily to oral. thyroid hormone Have undergone surgery in the U. S. because of .. nodular thyroids; histologic diagnoses of adenomatous goiter and H&thle cell tuner. Responding satisfactorily to oral thyroid hormone
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4. Development during the past year of nodules in the thyrcid requiring definitive dicgnosis and Two young adults had the primary benign adenomatous goiter essentially identical \ v.ith those in 1.3. above. They were treated by subtotal thyroidcctomy and are The third Rongelapese, a girl n“o~i21-22 . years of age, was found to have a papillary adenona with invasion by neoplastic cells of the lymph nodes of the left side of the neck. Since the frozen sections and invasiveness I ““ suggested a serious degree of malignancy a ;. radical dissection of the left side of the neck plus complete thyroidectcmy ‘were carried f) out. The patient is recovering with a minor degree of hypopzrathyroidism. . (None of six Ailinginae children exposed to zn estimated external dase of 70 rads have shown thyroid dysfunction.) II l Surviving adult llon~elape:e exposed ‘to fallout. (Estimated dose: 175 t-ads external plus 160 rem internal irradiation.) 41. No recurrence. Taking o~-21 thyroid - oral thyroid hormone therapy. 1 3. This patient v-as exposed as an adult at the age of 22. The rough mass in one lobe of the thyroid found on physical ex.z~tination proved to be an - invasive adenoina involving the czpsule of the thyroid. Since the I)-mph nodes were free of neoplastic ceils only a subtotal thyroidectomy 1.72s performed. The patient is reco’Jering satisfactorily
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111. Surviving arllllt},ilin~inac people exposed to fallout. (Estimated dose: 70 rads external gamma irradiation.) 1. Adcnonatous goiter-removed at zge 45. Recovered ,! tind IJaS on thyroid therzpy; died of influenza lV. Surviving adult Utirik people-exposed to fallout. 1. This patient was included when she was found to have developed a nodular enlargement of the . thyroid glznd; she \:as 22 at the time of exposure. In frozen section the tissue resembled . a fo]licular adenona and therefore a total thyroidectcmy \:as performed. Subsequent and upg~-zded tile estimzted degree of malignancy. but pro~zbly significzat n~iz ber of people exposed es ~dults on Rongelzp End other islznds are experiencing serious thyroid pro~lexs. bee: Chairwan Seaborg (2)