.’ Page Six Jonathan Weis all January 21, 1 882 “2, A detailed explanation of the Rongelap verses Utirik exposure levels and resulting thyroid problems. Your articles state that a much higher rate of thyroid problems have developed among the Utirik group, which received only l/10th of the radiation of the Rongelap group, but I do not see precise numbers in :~e . documents you gave me.” ‘-~esponse: At the moment, I have yet to see Dr. Conard’s 26-Year Annual Medical Report from Brookhaven, which is expected to be completed at any time. I therefore will restrict my figures to the material contained in the 1980 AAAS symposium (which I enclosed previously) by Dr. Hugh Pratt--these are the latest numbers I have seen regarding incidence rates of thyroid neoplasia in the Marshallese. Dr. Pratt states that in the Rongelap group (“exposed-and “unexposed,” i.e., those on Rongelap during the Bravo fallout and those who returned in 1957) there were 66 thyroid tumors with 7 of these being malignancies. Pratt says at Utirik there were 16 thyroid tumors and 3 of these were malignancies. If these figures are adjusted, 7 out of 66 tumors at Ftonqelap are malignancies, whereas 12 out of 64 tumors at Utirik are malignancies. That-is, there are nearly twice as many thyroid cancers at Utirik_than at-~ong~he Conard 20-Year Report may show an even higher ratio of thyroid cancer for the Utirik people. In connection with the above, a former physician with the Brookhaven medical team--Dr. Konrad Kotrady of the University of Utah School of Medicine--found the same phenomenon. In his 1977 report “The Brookhaven Medical Program to Detect Radiation Effects in Marshallese People,” Kotrady made the following statement: “...the ratio of thyroid cancer to thyroid modules found in exposed people at both islands is higher at Utirik than at Rongelap.” (Page 8 of enclosed Kotrady report) As indicated earlier, Conard himself explains that at higher doses of radiation many cells would die at mitosis because “of lethal damage to the reproductive mechanism and thus reducing the number of cells at risk for malignant transformation. At lower doses, as in the adult (Rongelap) group, a greater number of cells would be spared for malignant transformation.” (Page 9, “Sumnary of Thyroid Findings in Marshallese 22 Years After Exposure to Radioactive Fallout,” by Robert A. Canard. ) Karl Z. Morgan, in his 1978 paper titled “Cancer and low level ionizing radiation,” (In Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, September, 1978, pp. 30-41) suggests that low level radiation may cause more cancer than previously believed. He supports this view with the same logic as that of Conard in the study previously mentioned, specifically with regard to the cell-killing effect at higher doses. I might mention that I am deeply troubled about the Government’s tendency to minimize health risks associated with radiation exposure. For example, in the 1980 BEIR Comnittee Report, it Is stated In the chapter on the thyroid gland (page 304) that “A minimal latent period of 10 years seems to be reasonable” (which follows the 9-year latency period in the Rongelap group) and “A peak in~idence perhaps 20 years after exposure is sug~csted~some studies. ~h~s-–last part troubles .—— .— —.— me, especially since the BEIR conmittee specifically refers to Conard’s +47-- (j