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1.1
Task
issued a specially prepared book report in Marshallese.
The book was entitled, The Meaning of Radiation for Those
Mtolls in
the Northern Part of the Marshal] Islands that were Surveyed in i978,
and was published in 1982. (We shall refer to it as DOE-1982.)
he first
part dealt in general with radiation and fallout, and how they might
affect plants, animals and man. The situation at Rongelap was
dealt with
specifically on pages 38 - 39. (Note 1)
DOE's assessment of Rongelap Island was not accepted by t
Rongelap people, so much so that in 1985 the residents abandoned
homes and moved to Majieto in Kwajalein Atoll.
their
The U. S. Congress, therefore, provided for an independent
assessment of DOE's conclusions for Rongelap Island in the Compact of
Free Association Act of 1985 (U.S. Public Law 99-239, section 103 (i); see
Note 2). The functions of the present report are therefore as
fbllows:
"(The referee shall] review the data collected by the
[epartment
aad
of Energy relating to the radiation levels and other condithons on
Rongelap Island resulting from the thermonuclear test...Th
purpose...shall be to establish whether the data cited in
qupport of
the conclusions as to habitability of Rongelap Island as sq@t
forth
in the [book] ...are adequate and whether such conclusions fare
supported by the data....If...the data are inadequate to
support...habitabilty...the government of the Marshall islands shall
contract...{for]...a complete survey...f{and for recommendatfions
of]...the steps needed to restore habitability..."
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INTRODUCTION
Rongelap Atoll was contaminated with radioactive fallout inj 1954 as
a result of the Bravo thermonuclear test-shot at Bikini, 130 milks away.
In 1978, to inform the Rongelap people of the extent of residua
contamination 24 years later and of its potential effects upon
their
health, DOE (Department of Energy) surveyed the region and subsequently
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1.
1.2
Procedure
The DOE-1982 book now under review was discussed with its denior
author, Dr. William Bair (Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richland,
Washington 99352), and Dr. Bair has read the parts of this Repogt
referring to it. Dr. William Robison (Environmental Sciences D¥vision,
Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Livermore CA 94550), who supplied the
field data was also interviewed and has read this Report.