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Leo M. Krulitz
0ctobe~30,
1979
Page Six

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to me as the most comprehensive radiological survey yet
performed by anyone and, of course, it included Enjebi.
Altogether, the radiological considerations with respect
to resettlement of the atoll in general and resettlement
of Enjebi in particular, consumed the largest share of
the EIS. See EIS, Vol. I SS5-6; Vol. II, Tab A, p. p-8;
Vol III, Tab B, pp. 1-53 (including appendices I-IV). In
effect, the entire Enewetak Radiological Survey was
incorporated by reference into the EIS, a practice which
40 C.F.R.
is expressly permitted by the NEPA regulations.
S1502.21 (43 F.R. 55978, 55997).
In other words, it seems to me that the radiological
implications of resettlement of Enjebi were thoroughly
That laid
developed and considered in the statement.
the foundation for considering one of the two principal
issues presented by Enjebi, that is, the radiological
health effects associated with resettlement of a human
population to Enjebi island.
I shall come back to this
matter of health effects shortly.
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The other aspect of the Enjebi question which must be
considered in any.decision are the cultural implications
That matter, too, was adequately
of denying resettlement.
covered in the course of the development of the dr,aft EIS
and the EIS itself. The importance of Enjebi to the people
of Enewetak was treated in Vol. I ss3.4, 3.5, 4.5, 5.4.1.3,
5.4.2.2, 5.5, 5.7, 6.1, 7.3.3.4, 8.35, 9.7, andVol.
11A,
Tab F.
At--the latter reference; you will find the observations
of Dr. Robert C. Xiste, which standing alone probably say
all that can be said about the cultural significance of
Enjebi to the people who want to resettle there:
The people of Enjebi will be greatly
disappointed.
And it is not a simple
matter of not being able to return to
what they think of as home. Marshallese
attitudes regarding land, particularly
ancestral homelands are difficult for
Westerners to appreciate.
There is
almost a sacred quality about an
islander’s emotional attachment to his
home atoll — and more specifically —
those parcels of land within that atoll
to which he has rights.

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