BN]_||- BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY a) AVI . AOLS97- ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC. UPTON, LI, N.Y. 11973 MEDICAL DEPARTHMENT : ic Tecernoe: (516) 345-3577 | September 17, 1975 Senator Olympio T. Borja, Chairman -Special Joint Committee Concerning Rongelap and Utirik Atolls Congress of Micronesia _ Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950 Dear Senator Borja: This is in response to a letter from Brian Farley (Aug. 27, 1975) ‘containing questions regarding the compensation of Rongelap and Utirik people exposed to fallout. I have numbered the questions on a copy of your letter and present the following answers by these numbers: . CL) It would not be feasible to grade compensation with regard to degree of thyroid injury.in the surgical cases since it is not possible to quantify degree of injury or amount of healthy thyroid tissue remain- ing after surgery. In.any event thyroid replacement therapy used restores the normal metabolic state (dependent on thyroid function). The thyroid cancer cases following’ surgery have been asymptomatic and have shown no: evidence of recurrence. Such recurrence is extremely unlikely since it is already well beyond the time (5 years) of usual recurrence. In answer to your query about the cases in whom the thyroid has ceased to function we have recommended (see attached lettcr to Mr. Rice) inclusion for com- pensation of the two young Rongelap men who had atrophy of the thyroia with growth retardation. Also recommended for compensation was a Rongelap. woman who had a nonthyroid neurofibroma surgically removed from her neck. ' This tumor may have been related to exposure. (2) Due to their short radioactive life, none of the radioiodines involved in thyroid tumor production remained on the island when the ' people moved back to Rongelap. Only small amounts of other isotopes (principally 90sr and 137cs) remained, which unlike radioiodines are not selectively absorbed by the thyroid gland. ‘Therefore the thyroid dose from these isotopes and from a slight amount of ganma radiation was far below that known to produce tumors of the thyroid or other effects on the body. The finding of about the same incidence of such ‘tumors in the population living on an uncontaminated island in Likiep atoll favored nonradiation involvement. The thyroid tumors in the -Utirik population, one of which was malignant, have to be considered in a different light since ‘the thyroids in this group received some ‘radiolodine exposure. llowever, the*dose veceived was quite low and since the incidence of benign tumors of the thyroid was about the same as in the Rongelap control and Likiep population it seems cxtremely un‘This contention is supported by likely that radiation was involved. the fact that most of the tumors were in the older age group (as found unexposed populations) and. only one case.of nodularity developed in 5 Q 0 ( mom - INFORMATION OPLRATOR (SIG) 345-2123 |