Page Three Jonathan Weisgall January 21, 1982 while living in a radioactive environment where there are known "hot-spots," as well as foodchain contamination, the Bikinians run a high risk of contracting many forms of cancer over the years. Also, because the reproductive organs will be exposed to low-level radiation, it is possible that genes will also be affected, which may result in increased genetic problems. It is not unlikely that‘ the entire gene pool of the Bikinians may someday manifest in unprecedented birthdefects, and the Bikinians should be warned about this possible fate. Page 15: Page 17: a3 “Some radioactive atoms stay in the Jungs for a long time." The authors might have mentioned that radioactive atoms which stay in the Jung for a Jong time may cause Tung cancer. “Therefore, there are people of Bikini and people of other places around the world who will get diseases of cancer that are not produced by radiation." This is a ludicrous and dangerously deceptive statement as it applies to people who may reinhabit a former nuclear test site where they will be constantly exposed to low-level radiation. This passage is typical of how the DOE booklet downplays the health risks associated with radiation exposure. Page 17: _ Page 17: "If the diseases of cancer appear among the people of Bikini who have received radiation or who may receive radiation in the future, they would be no different from those that appear in other people around the world.” The absurdity of this misleading statement barely requires amplification. JI wonder if the authors of this DOE booklet — would offer those ridiculous statements to their own family members if they were considering the resettlementof Bikini? "When cancer occurs in a person, no one is able to know if the cancer came from radiation or from other things." The authors know better than this: Using biostatistical methods, radiation scientists are able to find statistically significant incidence rates of radiation-induced carcinoma, as in the Japanese bomb victims, the Rongelap and Utirik populations, and the persons treated in childhood with X-rays for thymic enlargement. Page 17: “Scientists know that it is more likely that harm (cancer) will occur to a person who receives a large amount of radiation then to one who receives a small amount of radiation." It is hard to imagine that the authors of the DOE booklet did not read the 1977 Brookhaven report by Dr. Robert A Conard entitled ‘Summary of Thyroid Findings in Marshallese 22 Years After Exposure to Radioactive Fallout.’ On page nine of this report, Conard himself refutes the above statement where he says, "One can postulate that the thyroid doses in the Rongelap children (700-1400 rads) were high enough to cause many cells to die at mitosis because of lethal damage Len _ 2,