PRIVACY ACT MATERIAL REMOVED 8. "We request that when called to Majuro or Ebeye by the B. N. L. team that the patient will receive an adequate per-diem to cover all of his livir: expenses during his stay." The health bill which covers this request is now being negotiated in Washington between the Trust Territory, Department of the Interior and the AEC. I cannot comment on this further since I do not have more information. 9. "We would like to know for how much longer does the B. N. L. team plan to continue their experiments on Rongelap." I do not know how long it will be necessary for us to carry out the examinations for the people of Rongelap. These examinations should not be called experiments, In no way have we carried out experiments on the people. We carried out only medical examinations and treatment. In 1964 before the thyroid troubles developed in the Rongelap people we found nothing of great importance wrong with the Rongelap people. At that time some people in the Marshall Islands and even some American doctors said "Why do you continue to examine the Rongelap people since you are not finding anything?" If we had stopped examining :e Rongelap people at that time many people would have gotten sick fron thyroid troubles that developed later, which would not have been discovered, and would not have been treated. We examine your blood twice a year to be sure that no one is developing leukemia, such as _ died of. I would like, however, to reassure the people that it is vefty unlikely that any other cases of leukemia will develop since we know that we have passed the period where we would any longer expect this disease from radiation exposure. I hope 1 , you understand therefore that these examinations must continue since we can never be certain that other things may not develop in the exposed Rongelap people. 10. * "We request that the A, E. C, find some way of ridding our cocoanut crabs of radioactivity or of replacing them with new and clean crabs, as they are a very important part of our diet." I would like for Mr. Greenhouse to answer this question for you. (Remarks There is no way known to rid the coconut crabs of it will eventually disappear through natural processes. Also, there is no practical way to replace the radioactive crabs with clean ones since nobody could be sure that all of the radio- - 5 i te oe active crabs had been found. | | The people had also expressed concern about eating other foods on the island. I would like to assure you that there is no need for concern. There are small amounts of radioactivity in all foods, even in the United States. This is due to natural radioactivity, and to world-wide fallout. DOEARCHIVES ae alley cer sede me ee radioactivity; however, fe ae! by Mr. Greenhouse: