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REACTIVATION OF THE MEDICAL SURVEY TEAM FOR THE TEST ON MAR CH 1. Note by the Secretary The General Manager has requested the attached report from the Director of Biomedical and Environmental Research be circulated for the information of the Commission and has provided the following digest: It was previously reported to the Commission in ‘“””-) SECY-2304, February 8, 1972 and SECY-2471, May 8, 19721 that considerable antagonism generated by political figures in the Marshall Islands against the AEC and /U.S. resulted in major interference with the medical ~ survey in March 1972, making it impossible to carry [. out the regular annual examinations of the Marshallese. ” However, an accommodation has now been reached with the Special Investigating Committee of the Micronesia Congress whereby the Medical Survey team led by .’ Dr. Robert Conard, Medical Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory will be able to resume the examinations of exposed and control Marshallese. The accommodation is based on the addition to the team of three or four independent physician-observers who will report to the Special Investigating Committee their views of the quality and value of the medical examinations carried out by the Medical Survey team on its annual examinations. A staff report is I US DOE ARCHIVES ‘,, ~COllrcf{{lm SEC.R~TARIAT I Secretary of the Commission
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Exec. Asst. to Gen. Mgr. Office of Planning 6 Analysis Asst. GM for Admin. Asst. GM for Research Biomedical ~ Env. Research NO. OF COPIES
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by the Staff of the Division of Biomedical and Environmental Research Reactivation of the Medical Survey Team for the Marshalle~e The medical survey team which annually has examined the Marshallese exposed to fallout from the March 1, 1954 “Bravo”test> only Partially Deptirtrnent,Brookhaven National Laboratory, organizer and leader of the team, reports that the team was able to examine only 40 of l$)zexposed ard 15 of 60 controlMa.rshalleseselected for examination this year. Many of the 141rshallesethis year did not volunteer for physical examithe routine clinical tests. However, three of the five who have previously undergone surgery for removal of neoplastic thyroid tissue were reexamined at Tripler General fiospitalin Honolulu during April. Two of these three were escorted to Cleveland in June for surgical exploration of the neck region for recurrence or me:astases. No abnormalities were found and both people have returned to the Islands in excellent spirits and health. Aside from Dr. Conard has observed nothing which changes the status as well as all the Marshallese and Utirik Atolls ha’{erepeatedly expressed discontent with the day by
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day medical care and treatmentprovidedby the MedicalService of the Trust Territoryof the Pacific Islands (!ITPI).They do not distinguish between the annval diagnostic-epidemiologic purposes of the Medical Survey team and the TTPI medical support which is limited by below) should be viewed in the context of the uncertain political situation presently existing in the Trust Territory. It is the policy of the U.S. Government to assist the Micronesians in developing a democratic self-government. A two-house Congressional system has been operative since 196~ and beginning in October 1969 there have been six rounds of talks aiming at further political autonomy vis-a-vis the United States. The people of the Trust Territory have aligned themselves into six island (atoll) groups and are competing for leadership. The Marshall Island group believes it has extraordinary claims on the United States because only they have suffered the dislocations due to tests and other military purposes. IH August 1971, N&. Ataji Bales, Representative of the I@rshall Islands to the Micronesia Congress, went to Hiroshima, Japan, to attend the Anti A-and H-Bomb Ceremonies on August 6 to 10. Acting apparently as a Congressman in behalf of his ,Marshalleseconstituents, he invi”tedthe Gensuiken, the radical left Socialist party, to send a team of physicians expert in radiation effects to the Marshall Islands Department of Energy
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to examineand treat the exposedpeople. The team arrivedunannounced at Majuroon December8, 1971 and declaredthey were ready to begin examining the exposed .Marshal.lese. Since only two of the 10 were physicians,the rest being newspapermen or persons associatedwith of the ‘1’TPIruled that since the Japaneseteam had entered the Trust Territory on visitor visas they would have to conduct themselves as visitors. They left 9 days later afterhaving superficiallyexamined eight exposed Nllrshallesewho chancedto be on Majuro. One of the physicians, Dr. Yoshimaliondo,is not well known in medical circlesin Japan,but is an activist. The other,Dr. Haruo Ezaki is a clinical professorin the School of Medicine, Hiroshima University, and a consultant on thyroid disease to the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission [ABCC). He has recently been offered the Chair of Surgery at Hiroshima University. He returned to Japan 2 days before the rest of the team This treatmentof the Japaneseteam led to many newspaper editorials, speeches, and legal maneuvers developing the theme that the this was an undemocratic action. In a speech made in connection with introd~ction of a Bill into the Micronesia Congress on January 27, 1972, CongressmanBales statedthat the TTPI has been unresponsiveto Department of Energy
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the plight of the exposed Rongelapese allowed these people to them for guineapigs to racism is evident; that be exposed to the 1954falloutso as to use develop its medical capabilities; that they have never been adequately compensated, especiallycomparedto the Japaneseon the “LuckyDragon”;and that the American doctors collect medical data but do nothing to restore The Bill proposes establishment of a “Special Joint Committee of Congress Concerning Rongelap and Utirik Atolls” having three members who shall investigate the results of irradiation on the people of Rongelap and Utirik ; shall attemptto secureany and au medical assistanceand aid from any possible source;shall attemptto obtain compensation for the injuries due to radiation; shall ings with powers of subpoena and suit, etc. Funds in $10,000 were provided together with staff. It became the amount of this speech the Micronesia Congresslet it be known that they wished Dr. Ezaki to be added to Dr. Conard’s Medical Survey team scheduled for Nkmch 1 thrcmgh”30. This was arranged on very short notice with the help of AECC. Dr. Conard also arranged for Dr. Toshiyuki Kumatori, Director of Clinical Medicine, tute of Radiological Science, Chiba, and the physician who had attended
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the seamen exposed to the “Braw” fallout aboard the “LuckyDragon” to join the team. Shortlybefore time to join the team Dr. Ezaki was visited by Franciso uhiLoIwj a YOUW nationalistic ~lrshallese” After two days discussion Dr. Ezaki was persuaded that Dr. Conard’s team would not be accepted and that his, Dr. Ezaki’s, presence would only create more problems. Because of this and an illness Dr. Ezaki decided against joining the team on Rongelap. Thereupon Dr. Kumatori was instructed not to proceed to Rongelap, although he was willing to Marshallese Congressmen felt that their conditions had not been met and they advised the people not to cooperate with Dr. Conard’s team. The Special Joint Committee created by Public Law 4C-33 has taken their responsibilities seriously and apparently without bias. The Committee or some of its membershave visitedHiroshima,Nagasaki> Chiba and the United Nations Trusteeship Council; have held hearings on Utirik, Rongelap, Majuro and Saipan; and have collected an extensive number of documents on their subject. The Committee has also developed an accommodation whereby Dr. Conard has been invited to reassemble the Medical Survey team and complete the survey of the Marshal.leseduring September providing that the ~ team include three or four independent observer-physicians expert in radiationeffects.”These men would report to the Committee their opinions of the importance of the Medical Survey and of the present health status of the exposed MsrshcLLese.
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It was suggested that one of the observer-physicians be a Japanese, preferably Dr. Ezaki, a second to be selected by the Surgeon General of the U.S. Public Health Service, and a third to be recommended by the World Health Organization. Thus the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory acting for the Chairman of the Committee has invited Drs. H. Ezaki and T. Kumatori, identified above; Dr. William Cole, Bureau of Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration, was selected by Dr. Research Council’s Clinical Research Unit, University College ably the world’s foremost authority on radiation effects on the thyroid The Special Joint Committee, the Marshallese Congressmen, and the President of the Micronesia Congress have severally and individually stated through the High Commissioner that there will be no interference with a complete medical survey of the exposed and control people; in fact, they will assist where possible. Thus, as of this point everything seems in order for a successful expedition which is scheduled for September 7 through 27, 1972, embarking from and returning to Kwajalein. The Division of Biomedical and Environmental Research (DEER) has cooperated closely with the Territorial Offices of the Department of Interioron this matter,exchanginginformationand messagesend is able to providemuch more detailedinformationshouldit be desired.