‘ wt Ra ee . .* "ef ae peersee ee ote ge ake 169 Another outside influence that caused problems came from an unexpected quarter, Japan. We had established close ties with the Radiation Effects Research Foundation studying the Japanese who had been exposed to the atomic bombs. One member of our team (Conard) had visited Dr. T. Kumatori for the examination of the fishermen exposed on the Lucky Dragon. Kumatori, in turn, had participated in one of the Marshall Islands surveys. While in Japan, the author was surprised at the emotional reaction of the public to the Bravo accident and the exposure ofthe fishermen on the Lucky Dragonto the "ashes of death.” The groups in Japan protesting atomic and hydrogen weaponshad becomeincreasingly vocal in theircriticisms ofthe U.S. Atomic Testing Program and the handling of the Marshallese victims of the Bravo accident. Marshallese politicians invited to Japan returned with the complaint that the Japanese doctors did not have access to the findings of our medical team andclaimed that the people were being treated as guinea pigs. Arrangements were made for two Japanese doctors to visit the Marshall Islands and to go to Rongelap to study the fallout victims. When this group arrived in the Marshall Islands, they were turned back by the authorities because they did not have the propervisas for their mission.” This infuriated the Marshallese politicians. The U.S. refusal was reported as resulting from our hiding of information.” Shortly after this, when we went to Rongelap to | carry out our examinations, the people had been told not to allow the team to examine them.Thesurvey had to be aborted. The Congress of Micronesia became involved and arranged our next examinations to include several well-known physicians, two from Japan, one from England, and one from the United States to accompany the team and evaluate its medical program. The examinations wentwell, and the reports of the observers were quite favorable to the conduct of the medical program.” This favorable review did much to quell further interference in the program. The psychological effects of radiation exposure were borne out by further events at Rongelap. As was pointed out, when the people returnedto live on Rongelap, slight residual contamination remained on the island, but regular radiation monitoring of the islanders by sensitive gamma spectroscopy and radiochemical urinalyses, as well as by radioecological studies, showed that the island was safe for habitation. Nevertheless, the people continued to worry about radiation on the island, and the politicians were suspicious concerning the U.S. reports. Finally, in 1985, the Rongelap people were evacuated by a Greenpeace ship, the Rainbow Warrior, to a small island at Kwajalein Atoll, where living conditions were most unsatisfactory. The Marshallese engaged an independent group to examine the U.S. reports concerning the radiological situation on Rongelap. This group concluded, after examining numerous U.S.reports, that the island was safe for habitation.“ However, the Marshallese werestill dissatisfied with the reports and petitioned the U.S. Congress for further proof of the safety of their island. The matter is being reviewed at present by a congressional committee.” Another unfortunate consequence of the atomic testing program was the necessity to move the people of Bikini Atoll prior to Operation Crossroads dese JUL ZI ES