REPOSITORY BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY BNL AUI COLLECTION ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC., UPTON, L.L, & MEDICAL DEPARTMENT s [ptse No Doeyhy BOXNo. | p DATS" L228 "C Pp Or: ConneD vownee April 25, 1974 O° nu (22 LGAH. OeLe Dr. James L. Liverman Director Division of Biomedical & Environmental Reseach U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Washington, D.C. 20240 . o 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. AH | Q Load ear Cae oF This would not include the children. - INFORMATION OPERATOR (516) 345-2123 |