TI 1 541 bilitation Program Enewetak R eha ° mber 1979, Mr. Mitchell and his consultants, several U.S. esentatives, and dri-Enewetak officials travelled ent agency repr proceedings 19 Septe Atoll to present the dose assessment briefings. The taped by a crew from Columbia Broadcasting System’s ‘‘60 “ program. opened the The Chief Secretary of the GMI, Mr. Oscar DeBrum, by reading a letter from the President of the Marshall Islands, ing meeting bua, to the dri-Enewetak officials and people. It advised that amate onal government could not bless or participate in any decision on theif nat to Enewetak ‘‘without being absolutely certain ofall aspects of theif rine dangerof residual radiation in Enewetak.”’ He warned ofthe une et dangersof living on theatoll and ofthe differences in prewar and zed that the which could be expected. He recogni sparen lifestyles + ifesty present wisions properly could be made only by the dri-Enewetak, and he ess80of the GMI to share in their problems and to ced the willingn devs ‘bl expresse issist in any Way POSSIDIE. . . , After remarks by DOI and DOE representatives, Ms. Alice Buck, a distinguished translator from Kwajalein Atoll, read and explained the hriefing pamphlet to the people in Marshallese. The government representatives then attempted to answer qeustions by the dri-Eriewetak, whose initial response was generally negative. Regrettably, the pamphlet uisplayed its statistics on the effects of radiation in terms of tens of thousands of people rather than in terms of the few hundred driEnewetak. It tended to exaggerate those effects in the minds of the people, and its technical nature was confusing to them. Mr. Mitchell took over the questioning in terms which the dri-Enewetak could comprehend. Their response became visibly more optimistic. Mir. Mitchell and his advisors then met separately with the Municipal Council. Following this meeting, the Council passed a resolution stating that the dri-Enjebi must return to live on the island of Enjebi and imploring the United States Government to concurin this decision and to provide all necessary assistance to enable the dri-Enjebi to return to their traditional homeland.8! Following the dose assessment conference, Mr. Mitchell’s consultants issued their own assessment entitled ‘‘Assessment of Radiation Health Effects of the Resettlement of Enewetak Atoll.’ In this report, it was deemed entirely possible that this radiation exposure, including immediate Enjebi residence, would never result in even a single case of disease among the returning population or their descendants.82 The report strongly supported the return of the dri-Enewetak to their homeland, which already had begun with the establishment of the Japtan settlement in March 1977.