S1aff Sloan June 24, 1980 Page Pour respond to this letter, which was taken out of context from a telephone conversation I had with Mr. Mitchell in May, and which certainly calls into question my expertise as a Marshalls expert, gs well as ny motives for having a continued interest in the affat: of the Marshallese. In our conversation, Mr. Mitchell repeatedly asked me about the “competence” of Drs. Bender and Brill in reference to their study entitled “Assessment of Radiation Health Effects of the Resettlement of Snewetak Atoll." I repeatedly explained to Mr. Mitchell that there was more than “competence™ at stake in the stuc and that I did not necessarily question the “competence” of the twc scientists, but rather the inherent “conflict of interest" in havir Brookhaven researchers assess United States Government data. I carefully explained to Mr. Mitchell that the history of the United States’ testing program was one of repeated mistakes and miscalculations, and the very least we could now do was to show our sinceri to the Marshallese by including non-Government radiation experts ir radiological surveys. When Mr. Mitchell asked me if I had the background to assess the Zender-Brill study, I said “Not exactly, because my emphasis ir the Marshall Islands has been in the sociocultural domain as it pertains to my ongoing Ph.D. dissertation work." I elso said that I did have “enough of a background in basic radiological studies tc ‘mow that an independent survey was sorely needed in the Marshalls, but he purposely neglected to mention that part of our conversation in his letter to your Office. Moreover, I might mention that Mr. Mitchell, who seems to feel that he is some sort of radiation exper should probably learn that the very first rule in making radiation assessments 1s that the long-term effects of radiation, and especia low-level radiation (like the kind the Injebi Islanders will be exr to when and if they return to their island) are still a major sourc of contention amongst reputable radiation experts: Drs. Bender and Brill, as competent as they may be, are making mere speculations ab the long-term effects of radiation at Enewetak. We may not know fo ten or twenty or thirty more years what the long-term effects of lo level radiation are, and to date there has been no “Nuclear Moses" has brought these answers down from Mt. Sinai on stone tablets. At very least, our experience in the Marshalls proves that we should proceed with extreme ceution, and if we are to error, let us do som thing different for a change and error on the side of health and safety of the unfortunate Marshallese. We have been playing nuclea “roulette” with innocent lives for too long. And it is interesting to note that the recent article in the “Microresian Independent" about Enewetak seems to suggest that Mr.