1968
Thyroid surgery on 12 Rongelap people carried out in
Boston,
Cleanup of Bikini for return of inhabitants.
Five Marshallese had thyroid surgery in U. S.
One Marshallese had thyroid surgery in Cleveland.
1971
Marshallese Congressman (Congress of Micronesia) visits Japan
and invites a Japanese team to visit Rongelap. Team arrives
but because of conflict over credentials they are denied visas
and returned to Japan.
Return of two Bikini families to Bikini to live. BNL medical
team assumes responsibility for radiological monitoring of returning Bikini and Eniwetok people.
Documentary movie Thyroid Neoplasia as a Late Sequella of
Radioactive Fallout filmed in Marshall Islands.
medical team in action.
1972
January:
Shows the
Marshallese Congressman accuses the U.S. of knowingly
and consciously allowing the Marshallese people to be exposed
to radioactive fallout in order to study the effect of radiation
on human beings; accuses medical team of using Rongelap people
as guinea pigs and not giving them proper medical examinations
and adequate treatment. In March he told the Rongelap and
Utirik people not to cooperate with the medical team. Annual
medical survey not completed. Also 4 patients who had been
operated for thyroid cancer and were to be reexamined at
Tripler Army Hospital were stopped and told to return home.
April:
Congress of Micronesia establishes a Special Joint
Committee concerning the medical examinations at Rongelap and
Utirik atolls. Chairman: Senator Olympio T. Borja.
August:
Resident physician stationed in Marshall Islands.
September: Annual medical survey resumed, with cooperation from
Committee from Congress of Micronesia and participation of four
appointed medical observers from several countries.
Comprehensive
report generally favorable to the medical examinations published.
October/November: A young exposed male, found to have acute
myelogenous leukemia, dies at National Cancer Institute, Bethesda,
Maryland, and is returned for burial at Rongelap.
Decision made to conduct hematological surveys at 6-month intervals. Two Rongelap people had thyroid surgery in Cleveland.
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