Whydo I need to take medicine for my thyroid? If you had an operation and your thyroid gland was removed, the medicinewill do the job that your thyroid used to do. So, you must keep taking your medicine. Somepeople who did not have the operation also take the medicineso that their thyroid glands do notget sick. It is very important that you take your medicine if you wantto stay healthy. . What kind of radiation caused thyroid sickness and leukemia? " ' Thyroid sickness in the Rongelap people exposed to fallout was caused by damage to the thyroid gland from a “thyroid radiation poison.” It took a long timefor the sickness to show. A few unexposed Rongelap people as well as some peoplein the Marshall Islands and all over the world develop thyroid sickness, butit is not due to radiation. All the “thyroid poison” on Rongelap was gone when the people moved back. Leukemiais a disease of the blood. Some cases were caused by radiation in Japan andit is possible that. == leukemia may have been dueto radiation. Time is about past for any more leukemia to be expected from radiation. Whatwill happento the people who were not exposed to radiation but are now living on Rongeilap and Utirik? They don’t have to worry because there is practically no chance that anyofthe people will get sick from radiation since thereis so very little radiation left on the islands. . Feast - People They are Rongelap people. They are healthy, too. - 103 - S00b194 PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED