James L. Liverman -2- boat, the LCU, to permit practical implementation of the medical visits; the publication of a booklet explaining radiation and its effects in the Marshallese language; and, as requested, the development of identification cards for persons on the roster of Dr. Conard's medical surveys who will also be eligible for medical benefits under P.L. 5-52, Mr. Farley was the chief spokesman for the group. He accepted the reluctance of AEC to agree to a ten, rather than one, year agreement in view of the expectation that renewal may be anticipated unless the program is faulty. The precedent of one year terms for contracts of this kind was cited by the AEC representatives. The Marshallese representatives also accepted our assurance that the annual sum paid under the agreement is subject to revision at time of renewal. Mr. Farley suggested that we include in our cover letter comments to the effect that the Beople should be encouraged to avoid abusing the privileges under the agreement, He felt that this could provide the local government leverage in gaining the cooperation of the people. However, in subsequent dis‘ cussion, OGC has advised against including such comments, which may be considered offensive by members of the Congress of Micronesia. We made the point that inclusion of the descendants in the group covered by the agreement could create serious problems in implementation of the program. The offspring have not been included in Dr. Conard's roster, which defines the population of recipients of the benefits. Secondly, the size of the offspring population could increase considerably over time. The numbers involved could jeopardize both Dr. Conard's medical surveys and the reimbursement provided for in the Agreement. Dr. Conard's surveys are limited in time by the availability of his volunteer consulting specialists, who are prestigious scientists and could not be expected to spend several weeks in the Marshall Islands examining a considerably enlarged population. Further, we pointed out that the incidence of manifest genetic defects attributable to irradiation in the offspring population would be very low if any such cases were to occur. There was considerable discussion of the addition of the words UNRELATED TO IRRADIATION to the exclusion of accidents from benefits under the agreement, We expressed our feeling that the inclusion of accidents related to irradiation could create administrative problems because people who suffer accidents might seek to relate their accidents to their original radiation exposure. Since the likelihood of any such relationship is negligible, the medical aide may be spared some painful decisions if accidents are excluded completely from the program of benefits, However, we left this matter to the discretion of the Marshallese representatives. They advised including "accidents unrelated to irradiation'' for coverage in the revised draft for the Micronesian Congressional Committee to accept or remove. The AEC representatives were prepared to accept either decision. 9008459