Congressman Phillip Burton Congressman Sidney R. Yates March 28, 1980 Page Four _- ° physician to Likiep, and to do some biochemical analysis at Likiep and a control atoll in‘the southern Marshalls, the Department proposed that the physician would be limited to examining the population for thyroid nodules, the most gross method of detecting thyroid problems. No willingness was expressed to scan the population with appropriate medical equipment to detect bone cancer or other potentially radiation related cancers and abnormalities. The approach pro- posed by the Department virtually would ignore the sig- nificant advances in cancer diagnosis which have taken place in recent years. Moreover, the proposed agreement stated that “it is clearly understood that the activities identified above are in no way related to, establish a precedent for, or influence any definition of ‘affected atolls’ as set forth in Public Law 96-205. The presence of thyroid pathology will not be considered as prima facie evidence of radiation causality." Essentially, the Department again has proposed to take an extremely limited, medically backward approach which does not address the desperate needs of the people of Likiep and the other northern atolls and would frustrate the intentions of the Congress cf the United States as expressed in H.R. 3756. In light of the repeated unwillingness of the Department of Energy to respond in any adequate fashion to the pressing need to identify and treat the radiation related medical problems of the people of the northern Marshall Islands, the people of the Marshall Islands respectfully request that Congress appropriate to the Department of the Interior for the Government of the Marshall Islands for fiscal year 1981 $250,000 to enable the Government of the Marshall Islands to develop and implement a full medical survey of the people of Likiep and the other northern atolls, using appropriate.medical technology, medical doctors and support, to enable us to diagnose the medical problems of the people finally so that the long needed treatment can be provided on a current and ongoing basis. Although the federal administrative bureaucracy continuously has shirked its duty, we look to the United States Congress to provide the people of the northern Marshall Islands other than Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and Utirik the means to begin addressing the unfor-