RMI Nuclear Justice Documents

The KEeornecrable Wallace C. Green
BKetinc Deruty Assistant Secretary
Territorial & International Affairs

Augest &,
Pace

Three

1960

re importantly, to comment on and be consultec with
regarc to any scope of work Gocument or craft contrac
rec in connection with Section 102 of Public Law 96-

205.

On pace three of the Discussion Paper, the Interior
Department offers a preliminary reading of Section 102 which
raises several cuestions.
The first issue is raised by the

use of the word “inhabitants” and its implication of a
residency recguirement.
Section 102 quite carefully refers
to “people” of atolls and it is the view of the Government
of the Marshall Islands that Congress intended this term to

be interpreted consistent with customary Marshallese concerts
of relationship between people and atolls which do not

recuire residency on an atoll by any particular indivicual.

The most important issues raised hy the DOI prelimiNary reading are the method for determining the atolls whose

people are entitled to health care and the method for deter-

mining whether a particular injury, illness or condition of
any person within the group of entitled people is eligible
for treatment. The statute quite clearly sets up two tests
for determining whether a particular person is entitled to
treatment in a particular case:

1.

Is that person one of the "people" of
a.

Bikini, Enewetak,
Utirik; or

Rongelap or

b.

Any other atoll of the Marshall
Islands exposed to radiation from the
nuclear weapons testing program;

and

2.

Is the injury, illness or condition for

which treatment is being sought one which

"may be the result directly or indirectly of
such nuclear weapons testing program.”

The preliminary reading of DOI seems to ignore these two

Statutorily established standards and to unjustifiably
discriminate between the injuries, illnesses or conditions which

will be treated with regard to people of group l(a) above
and group 1(b)

above.

As to the people of Bikini,

Enewetak,