Mrs. Ruth Clusen ———t~ Mis turk per! fore roeet 1S atepn om ase. a sre, Dar fauw ve bl f f° Futy ™ > eiptet / 7 SIAM e 3 May 29, 1979 processing of existing stock of contaminated copra has not been possible, other techniques such as measurement of weapon test fallout and stable isotope determinations should be conducted on commercial systems such as exist in the Pacific Islands; e.g., Majuro, Panape and Palan. Additionally, a market analysis is required which should include export quantities and routes, as well as product distribution patterns and use. This should be sufficiently detailed to allow calculation of probable market dilution of copra products produced in the Northern Marshall Islands and potential dose calculations to humans at the identified use points. However, this analysis may be pointless if emotional considerations about radionuclides prevail. Use for Food Whether coconuts should be planted for use as food can only be determined upon compietion of the fission product survey, dose and risk assessment. Data on levels of radionuclides in soil and in coconuts grown in that soil can be used to define areas of islands Suitable for coconut planting (where the concentration of radionuclides in soil is sufficiently low that coconuts grown in the soil could be used as sustenance food without leading to radiation doses exceeding appropriate guidelines). Participation of Marshallese in the Decision Process According to the linear, no-threshold hypothesis, no dose of ionizing radiation can be considered to be completely free of potential harm. In radiological protection work the safety of a given dose can be judged only in the context of the situation involving the dose. Hence, the benefit- risk and the as low as reasonably achieveable (ALARA) concepts. Present recommended numerical maximum limits in Federal radiation protection guides are, therefore, based upon value judgments as to the balance between dose (or risk) and the benefits attained by each group in the U.S. population for normal uses of radiation. The Federal Radiation Council, in establishing the current radiation protection guides, recognized the need for flexibility in such guidance. Thus, in Report 1, p 27, they first discussed the need to keep doses as low as practicable. This is followed by: "Similarly, it is obviously appropriate to exceed this level if a careful study indicates that the probable benefits will outweigh the potential risks". This type of reasoning led to the definition of the Radiation Protection Guide on page 37 as: "...the radiation dose which should not be exceeded without careful consideration of the reasons for doing so; every effort should be made to encourage the maintenance of radiation doses as far below this guide as practicable." From this it is apparent that the FRC guidance goes beyond the specific numerical values chosen for normal activities in the U.S., and makes it not only possible, but also necessary to appraise the proper risk-benefit balance in the specific case of theMarshallese I Advisory Group at there may be many otherwise unobtainable benefi the people o ese islands if a somewhat higner dose limit is applied. It is recognized that the dose criteria in the Enewetak Environmental statement also must be considered. 5