Dr. Joseph Maher December 16, Page 3 1976 groups, established families and a way of life Vargely different from what would be required on Enewetak. Even though the Enewetakese have expressed strong desires to relo- cate, past circumstances and some factual information prompts one to question commitments to return. The Department of the Interior has already constructed a few homes on the atolls and I understand that their style and structure have been disapproved by certain Enewetakese. The soil on Enewetak is low in nutrients making agriculture a nonviable form of subsistence. A return to fishing is almost a necessity. Yet, aS pointed out above, few know or remember the skills required. The period of transition for the Enewetakese will indeed be troublesome. I think the Enewetak know this and are some~ what confused about the consequences of their desire to return. I'm certain they have been told that they should reclaim their homeland from the federal government since it was theirs in the beginning. The experiences of thirty years ago suggest some inconsistencies. For example, families who never experienced life on the atoll will experience similar kinds of adjustment problems as their parents did not so long ago. In fact, those adjustment probiems are well known since the experiences have been passed on from one genera- tion to the other. Moreover, many are still living who vividly recall the relocation and the problems they and others experienced. Hence, given this information, one would wonder why over 60 percent of the Enewetakese who never lived on the atoll would want to give up present lifestyles and attempt to return to a way of life long forgotten or never experienced. The relocation of people to an area once used as a nuclear bomb test site has far-reaching implications. On the one hand, if the Enewetakese return and manage to survive the effects of contamina- tion much can be said about the generalizability of this to future groups caught in similar circumstances. It suggests that people can be evacuated from an area where the danger of radiation contamination is high and then return thirty years later to resume daily living patterns. For the moment, consider the tormenting thought that the Enewetak relocatees do become negatively affected by radioactive levels and have to be moved to other atolls again. The consequences could be alarming and have the potential of focusing public attention. Most assuredly, public resistance to nuclear fuel reactors would increase and intensify at an alarming rate and probably bring construction to a halt. Whatever the outcome, certain humanitarian groups will be watching and closely monitoring the relocation efforts.