COVINGTON & BURLING Mr. Wallace 0. Green Page Seven December 17, 1980 tinguish with any precision in any individual case whether a Throughout particular illness is radiation related or not." the report and in the oral presentations on December 10, 1980, Loma Linda implies that attempts to make such distinctions would not only lead to medically inconclusive results but also would require extremely costly testing procedures. The report also recognizes that attempts to classify the health problems of certain individuals as not being radiation effects will undoubtedly provoke continuing protracted In view of these statements and costly legal disputes. and imputations in the report, it is crucial that the Department of Interior obtain an estimate of the likely costs involved in conducting the necessary tests even to attempt to determine, with any degree of certainty, that particular health effects evidenced in an individual are It is our belief that these costs, not radiation related. considered together with the costs of providing health care to all of the people of Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Utirik, will far exceed the cost of providing health care services to the entire population of the Marshall Islands as we believe is mandated by P. L. 96-205. Education Plan Pending further input from the Marshall Islands Government delegation to the December 10, 1980 meetings, I offer two general comments with regard to the Education Plan. On page 5 of the Plan, the Pacific Northwest Division lists several government officials with whom they spoke prior to drafting the plan. This listing gives the impression that the contractor held formal consultations with the Government of the Marshall Islands. As Foreign Secretary DeBrum pointed out at the December 10 meeting however, no such consultations were held. In fact, the Pacific Northwest Division insisted on coming to the Marshall Islands at a time when they specifically had been notified by the Government of the Marshall Islands that the appropriate government officials would not be in Majuro but would be in Hawaii for political status discussions with the United States. Although the contractors undoubtedly obtained useful input from those persons with whom they spoke, they timed their visit so as not to afford themselves the opportunity to consult with the most informed and directly involved government officials. The Government of the Marshall Islands looks forward to participating in the implementation of an education plan but insists that full consultations, with appropriate officials "ep