. , 4g BROOKHAVEN TEAM REPORTS ON 1969 EXAMINATION . OF MARSHALLESE ISLANDERS .Upton, . a a . we Me a - , N. Y.--Dr. Robert A. Conard (MD), head of the medical team from the AEC's Brookhaven National Laboratory responsible for monitoring the Marshall Islanders who were accidentally exposed to fallout from a 1954 Bikini borb test, reported five patients with thyroid abnormalities (nodules) were brought back to the United States for thyroid surgery as a result of the 1969 yearly medical survey. Three of the cases were found to be malignant, but one is believed to be unrelated to radiation exposure. - They arrived at Brookhaven National Laboratory on August 26 and returned to the Marshall Islands on September 21. The surgery was performed on September 8, 9, and 10 by Dr. Brown Dobyns at the Cleveland (Ohio) Metropolitan General Hospital. The patients and their diagnoses are’as follows: : One 36-year-old female from Rongelap was an adult at the time of.exposure, who had received 160 rads to the ihyroid yoo from radioactive iodines in the food and water plus 175 rads : aire - oN ot " of whole body exposure, and whose thyroidnodules did not develop to the detectable stage until the March, 1969 medical survey. She had a partial thyroidectomy to remove a nodule which the pathologists diagnosed as a low-grade (Gegree) malignancy. Two 22-year-old females from Rongelap who were seven years old at the time of the fallout, who received 500-1000 rads to the thyroid from radioiodinesS in the food end water, pius 175 reads of whole body exposure. One had a partial thyroicectony _ to remove a nodule which proved to be benign. The other heé a completé thyroidectomy removing a tumor diagnosed as maiignant. ho ae" ‘ A 22-year-old male from Rongelap, who had received the same dose as the females, had a partial thyroidectomy to remove a nodule which proved to be benign. One 34-year-old female from Utirik, who received 15 rads to the thyroid from food and water plus 14 raés of whole body exposure, had a hemi-thyroidectomy to remove a tumor Ciagnosed as malignant. : ’ ! 2 a This case is not believed to be Gue to radiation exposure in view of the low dose received and the lack of thyroid abnormalities noted in Utirik children, in contrast to the higher proportion of abnormalities in the Rongelap , children. BEST COPY AVAILABLE (more) : #| poEA pRcHIvES