medical care in the Marshall Islands,
exposure

the fact that valid pre-

health care statistics for the people of the Northern

Marshalls are virtually non-existent thus making it well nigh
impossible to establish a cause-effect relationship for any given
case, and by the intense emotional and psychological insecurity
of the people of the affected atolls who are not conditioned to
place radiation effects in a proper perspective.
In 1954,

84 Rongelapese were exposed to fallout.

84 original exposed individuals,

50

are still living.

Of these

There are

also some 500 to 600 unexposed Rongelapese, made up of descendants
Fh

o

the exposed group and the Marshallese whe have Rongelapese blood

Or marriage affiliation.

About 500 of the unexposed Rongelapese

have been used sporadically as a "comparison" group to the exposed
population.

The original Utirik exposed group consisted of 158 individuals
of which 120 still are alive.

Another 500 unexposed Utirikese,

made up of descendants of the exposed group and Marshallese with
Utirik blood or marriage affiliation, also fall into the Utirik
category.

Some 375 of this

larger group have been studied as a

"comparison" group to the exposed Utirikese.
2.

Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll Peoples
A.

The People of Bikini Atoll

Bikini Atoll was the site of 23 U.S.

atmospheric tests.

The

170 Bikinians resident there in 1946 were removed from the atoll in
March 1946 prior to start of the testing program.

After several

years of very unsatisfactory resettlement efforts in other parts of
the Northern Marshalls,

the Bikinians were resettled

in March 1948

Select target paragraph3