pELETED In my initial conference with the Japanese scientists I was forced to the conclusion that they were not well equipped to deal properly with the radiological espects of the problem, For exemple: (1) Some of the top scientists took the position that because a new kind of bomb was involved, the problem itself was a new one, and that unless they know all about the bomb, they cculd evaluate neither the injury to the fishermen nor the aspect of long-range contamination of Japan and its fishing crews throughout the Pacific. (2) The were quick to identify qualitatively some of the radioactive isotopes in the ash and immediately concluded that deposition of these radio-isotopes in the tissues of the men was the prime factor in their meGical status, This decision was reached without benefit of radio-chemical urine analyses of the patients, This précedure which was teyond the capa+r tility of their laboratories is of ccurse a prerequisite to understanding the anount and kind of fission product atsorption that ectually occured. (3) The University of Tckyo group ac¢ministered parentally a massive dose of esh to one mouse, and following sacrifice 12 hours later, determined by radiography that radioactivity vas present in the mouse skeleton, The activity of the dose was not measured. The fact that the radioactivity was detected ty the scientists in the skeleton of the mouse vas widely publicized es evidence for their conclusion that the patients were carrying Gungerous internal deposits of radioactive isotopes. fs indivicuels, the scientists seemed anxious to cooperate. In my initial convercatiins with them they freely eskad for help and seemed gratified at s:m2 of the things that we could do for them. My participation on the f#xsrican team was limited to the rediological aspects of the case inciicrizlly to the patients themselves. Unfortunately the nature “ton's participaticn required that he t= given direct eccess to the nd 3 access to the gp uncooperative <€e he phe Jepancse consistently Pesusee to grant a wo. Ls the ¢ days e S> other|areas of the problem becem@ infected by the ere, Tnis will tecome apparsnt in subsequent t Orr leS OF ASSISTANCE TO TEE JLPLSSE w When I arrived in Tokyo on Merch 22 Dr. Morton had already offered to the Japanese the full fecilitics of the Atomic Borb Casuality Commission. General Kull + 4 Likewise offered the facilities of the Fer East Command. o These offers were accompinied by a spirit of s;vpathy and the desire to iM assist the Jep=nese investigators in their efforts to evaluate the incident and to restore the health of the fishermen. ft a meeting with top