ON THESE ISLANDS.”
BALOS NOTED THAT BECAUSE OF FALLCUT FROM BIKINI TESTS,
THE PEOPLE OF RONGELAP AND UTERIK WERE STILL AFFECTED 4FTESP
TWENTY YFARS, SAID BALOS, " 1] AM NOT A SCIENTIST 2UT
WHO
ZNOWS WHAT VILL HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.”
(PON LEARNING CF THIS PSLEASE ( WHICH JT OBTAINED FROM PRIVATE
SOURCE) I SOUGHT A MEETING WITH CONGRESSMAN BALOS. DISTRICT
ADMINISTRATOR DE BRUM AND I CONFERRED WITH HIM FOR AN HOUR
ON MARCH 17.
I FIRST EXPLAINED THE QUALITATIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE 1954
EXPERIENCE OF THE UTERIK/RONGELAP PEOPLE AND THE LOW LEVEL
CHRONIC EXPOSURE INCIDENT TO RESETTLING AN ISLAND OR ATOLL
1 FURTHER EMPHASIZED THE EXCEPTICNALLY LOW RADIATION LEVELS
HERE ON ENEWETAK (CON THE ISLANDS DESIGNATED FOR EARLY
RESETTLEMENT).
BALOS SEEMED TO ACCEPT THIS AND TO BE REASSURED, ALTHOUGH HE
aa
TS ABO T AS EXPRESSIVE AS THE SPHINX.
PAGE $3 RUHHDNA
16683
UNCLAS
T PROCEEDED To DISCUSS QUR POSITION REGARDING MEDICAL
EXAMINATICN AND MEDICAL RESPONSIBILITY. I
BLUNTLY
TOLD HIM QUITE
THAT WE DO NOT EXPECT ANY RADIATION-TNDUCED MEDICAL
PROBLEMS AMONG THE RETURNEES, AND THAT IF WE DID WE WOULD
HAVE MOST STRONGLY OBJECTED TO THEIR RETURN.
CONGRESSMAN BALOS
CNOTE HERE THAT
IS MOST LIKELY THE ORIGINATOR CF THE TERM
"GUINEA PIG" AS APPLICABLE TO ERDA'S MARSHALL ISLANDS MEDICAL
PROGRAM).
I
THEN EXPLAINED THAT WE HAVE MAE A
DELIBERATE
DECISION NCT TO EXTEND THE-RROOKHAVEN MEDICAL SURVEILLANCE
/
TO THE ENEWETAK RETURWEES TO AVOID MISUNDERSTAMDING AND
&
WITH SLIGHTLY ELEVATED BACKGROUND.