REPOSITORY
BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY
BNL
AUI
COLLECTION
ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC., UPTON, L.L, &
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
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April 25, 1974
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Dr. James L. Liverman
Director
Division of Biomedical & Environmental Reseach
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
Washington, D.C. 20240
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Dear Dr. Liverman:
Enclosed are copies of letters from Mr.Stanley S. Carpenter to me
with letters from Senator Borja of the Congress of Micronesia concerning amendments to the AEC draft agreement concerning the health benefit
bill.
I would like to say first that I am not convinced that this bill
is the best way of handling the examination compensation problem concerned with our surveys and most of the doctors in our medical team
agree. We feel that there will be considerable unrest and dissatis-~faction on the part of the people not entitled to the benefits and that
the actual payment procedures may defeat the purpose of the bill. It
would probably be better to pay the unexposed people on our examination
list directly for their examinations at the time of the examination and
only include the exposed people in the group to receive hospitalization
benefits. Medical care of the unexposed group can then be on the same
basis as with other Marshallese through the Trust Territory System.
Things have probably gone too far for this suggestion to be acted on.
With regard to the proposed amendments I will like to address myself to the problem of inclusion of benefits to descendents of exposed
people as suggested by Senator Borja's
committee.
I will not comment
on other amendments except to say that in #9 I cannot see how accidents
can be related to residual radiation and I cannot understand the rational of #12.
:
I am not in favor of inclusion of the exposed people in the group
receiving benefits for the following reasons:
1. Examination of first generation children of radiation exposed
Japanese people have been generally negative and examination of children
of Rongelap exposed people has not revealed any recognizable geneticaily
inherited abnormality.
2. My understanding is that the bill was originally designed to
compensate the people on our regular examination list with health care
travel reimbusements in turn for their assistance to us in being examined.
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This would not include the children.
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INFORMATION OPERATOR (516) 345-2123
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