GINSBURG. FELOMAN, WEIL AND BRESS Mrs. Ruth Van Cleve December 15, Page Three applied to the people of the four atolls. 1980 For example, the Loma Linda contractor stated at the December 10 meeting that, statistically, only "a handful" of the peoples of the four affected atolls would be expected to reguire secondary or tertiary health care in any given year. Yet the Loma Linda figures for the four-atoll program provide that $7.2 million of the first year's budget of $10.6 million will be spent on secondary or tertiary health care. These expenditures, as explained in the report, relate primarily to improvements in the Majuro and Ebeye hospitals. Yet the Loma Linda report fails to compare the secondary/tertiary costs associated with improved hospital facilities in the Marshalls to the costs of referring this "handful" of people to other hospitals, such as Tripler in Hawaii. As the Loma Linda spokesman admitted at the December 10 meeting, this $7.2 million cost, which is projected to rise annually, could be reduced by approximately 90% by referring the "handful" of patients from the four atolls in need of secondary or tertiary care to hospitals outside the Marshalls. The key to this entire problem, as noted above, lies in~ the assumption made by the Loma Linda report, and apparently by the Department of the Interior, that "people" of Bikini Atoll means all the people of Bikini, wherever they may be located. There are today approximately 925 Bikinians. Nearly 550 reside on Kili Island, about 140 are on Ejit Island in Majuro Atoll, approximately 100 live on other parts of Majuro, approximately another 100 live in Ebeye. The remainder are scattered throughout the Marshall Islands, and some are attending school in the United States. It is important to recognize that not all of the people of Bikini have received the same treatment from the U.S. Government in the past. For example, in 1946, when the U.S. Government first became involved with the people of Bikini, it moved the 170 people living on Bikini Atoll to Rongerik, but it made no provisions for the 48 Bikinians who were then related to the Bikini community but living elsewhere at that time. See R.C. Kiste, The Bikinians: Migration 39 (Cummings Publishing Co. A Study in Forced 1974). Over the years, between approximately 60% and 75% of the Bikini population has remained together as a "hard-core," exclusive Bikini community. In 1964, In 1946, 78% of the community lived on Bikini. 282 of the 459 Bikinians, or 61%, core group on Kili. of 540, or 64%, In 1969, lived on Kili. lived in the hard- 344 of the group's population Kiste, supra, p. 39. Today,