Page Four
Jonathan Weisgal]
January 21, 1982

to the reproductive mechanism and thus to reduce the

number of cells at risk for malignant transformation.

At lower doses, as in the adult group, a greater number
of cells would be spared for malignant transformation.

The authoris are obviously attempting to obsecure the fact
that low-level radiation may indeed be more dangerous at

Bikini than the islanders might consider otherwise, and
it is skin to a criminal act to hide thisinformation fromunsuspecting and unknowledgeable people.
Page 18:

“If people will again return to live on Bikini Atoll in the
future, scientists can again uSe this instrument (whole body

counter) to measure the amount of gamma radiation from

radioactive atoms in people's bodies as a result of their
living on the atoll."

This is tantamount to admitting that the scientists know in
advance that the Bikinians will be ingesting gamma-emitters

at Bikini, such as cesium-137 and cobalt-60.
Page 19:

“The U.S. Government and many other governments approve
and follow these recomnendations."
The authors, in mentioning the radiation standards of the
ICRP, UNSCEAR, IAEA, and the EPA, neglected to mention that
- these radiation standards, far from being unanimously
accepted, are probably the most controversial aspect of
present-day radiation physics. The Bikinians have a right
to know that there are many radiation scientists who feel

that these radiation standards are extremely lax and that
they grossly underestimate the potential hazards associated
with radiation exposure. When one roads through this booklet,
one gets the definite impression that there is universal]
consensus about radiation standards.

Moreover, the Bikinians

have a right to know that researchers such as Gofman, Mancuso,
Carl] Johnson, et al. have had their Government-funded studies
terminated because their findings suggested that the accepted
radiation standards underestimated the health risks of
radiation exposure.

Page 2]-27:

The scenarios and accompanying risk estimates on these
pages are conservative calculations, i.e., “best-cases"
verses “worst-cases." The Bikinians have a right to know
this, especially in light of the history of repeated mistakes
by Brookhaven, the DOE, Interior, et al. in the Marshalls.
Specifically, the fact that the “unexposed" Rongelapese who
returned with the “exposed" islanders in 1957 after Bravo
became exposed to residual radiation should be relevant here.
In this connection, the Japanese scientists who came to the
Marshalls in 1973 reported that the Rongelapese should not
have returned in 1957 must be mentioned. Also, the lesson

or the catastrophic Bikini return in the 1970s should not be
ignored.

As an addendum, the authors of the DOE booklet have failed
to mention the psychological impact of the weapons tests in

the -../

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