Document text
Machine-read from the scan, so expect some errors. Lines that couldn’t be read are left out.
Page 1
Joint Committee on Atomic Energy I Congress of the United States The f02J.owingrepresents the most recent information on the occurrence of thyroid nodules emong the people of Rongelap Island who were exposed to fallout on March 1, 1954. Dr. Robe~ A. Conafi of the Medical Department of the Brookhaven National Laboratory has returned fmm the Marshall Islands where he and his team conducted the latest of the continuing series of mdi.cd. examinations of Our last letter on this subject, dated lfayQ 1966, reported a cumlative total of 16 ItishaUes e had been found to have thyroid additional cozmnentsregar&Lng this problem at the time of the FX The recent survey disclosed one new case with a mid nodule. ~S additional case was in a ~~-year old boy who had been away on an outlying atoll and, cOnsequently, had not been examined for several years. This brings to 3.’7the number of diagnosed csses OX nodtiar thyroids smong the 69 survivors of the originaI. exposed -ng the titter part of WY 1966, five patients were “broughtfrom RongeLap to the Brookhaven Medical Depa@ment. After thorough evaluation they were tram ferred to the New England Deaconess Hospital in Boston for subtotal th~idectomies. A13.did well and were returned in June 1966 to Rongelap. At this time, N. of the 1? individuals tith thyroid nodules have been treated surgicsdly. These XL, nine children and two adults,
Page 2
were ti found to be in good condition wi-d no further apparent thyroid abnormalitiesduring the iyi~ch 1967 medical survey. The nodules in the thwoids of the remaining ~a+dents are being treated medicaSly. A decision regarding surgery for any of these can be given an adequate triaL. Dr. Conard reports no other noteworthy medical.findings and no unusual iUnesses or disetises that could be related to radiation We will keep you informed Of the progress of these studies. Assistant General lkmager for Research and Development