DOCUMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN ECI be: Wd_BairaANW_” J Fox BNW 7 . JA Hébert HARC SM Nealey HARC / fv / W Swift BNW MT Wood HARC December 16, Reviewed by LLL Bex Log9 ? | os oe WJ. ae \ ; we, — oo ae - /~ on Human Affairs Research Centers PO) Box 5395 oN Joseph Maher Office of Administrator for Environment and Safety M.S. E-201 Germantown, Maryland 20767 Dear Dr. Maher: 409808 PYOO NF ATst Street Seattle, Washington 48105 Telephone (206) $25-31 4% CABLE Dr. e $ =Battetle poe SER i 1976 5 REPOSITORY HIARCSEA PNN.L. COLLECTION Marsha fl Tslands BOX No. 5G &5 FOLDER Chewe tak G76 Issues pertaining to the current relocation and rehabilitation program of the Marshall Islands has been brought to my attention by Dr. John Hébert at HARC. He suggested that I respond to you concerning my thoughts about potential problems concerning ERDA's current and continued involvement in the rehabilitation effort. As I understand it, three federal agencies (i.e., United States Energy Research and Development Administration, United States Department of Defense, and the United States Department of the Interior) are participating in the rehabilitation, specifically the rehabilitation of Enewetak, and in general the adjoining islands and atolls in the Marshall Island chain. ERDA's main responsibilities consist of providing assistance and advice to Defense and Interior concerning safety levels of radioactive soil and finding a disposal solution for contamination soil. Again, I understand that steps have been taken by ERDA to communicate risks of contamination to Marshall Islanders. Latter efforts have been assessed as being largely unsatisfactory. The processes and consequences of evacuation and removal of persons from their homelands have concerned me for some time. Invariably, the culture and lifestyle of the relocatees are dramatically altered. Home and work patterns must be adjusted to accommodate existing lifestyles in the new community. Often value conflicts emerge between residents and relocatees adding to the complications. Issues of this kind are complex, and frankly, not well understood by social scientists. The status of the Marshall Islanders appears to fit this pattern and I fully expect adjustment problems to occur. Rehabilitation of Enewetak, Bikini, Japtan and some of the other atolls in the Marshall Island chain is unique since there are risks associated with the move. This risk introduces new considerations to the issue. Fortunately, for social science, there are some examples available that could provide some insight. One possibility is to consider why people would want to return to or rebuild in a high risk environment. Some examples of this follow: