visual difficulties. I am not an ophthalmologist, and brought no instruments to visualize the lenses of these’s people’s eyes. However, I learned that on one island about fifty per cent of the population is losing lts . vision. This does not come to me from cne informant, but One informant comes to me from three or four informants. actually said that most of the adults were losing their This vision. Sometimes it was occurring in children. again does not seem to be concomitant with the blast or follow shortly on it. One would expect the cataract changes sooner if it was due to looking directly at the blasts, and I would not expect it in individ~als unborn This appears to be perhaps at tie time of the blasts. one of ‘themost disabling disabilities on the island of Utrik, and if not for the appa~ent willingness of the island to take care of its own there would be many people on this island suffering by reason of their dimming sight. In a colder, crueler society these people. would not be able to sumive. ., .; .- . . The frequency of eye problems is complicated by also Diabetes is an adequate the notable frequency of diabetes. cause of cataracts, and older diabetics may develope cataracts. However I asked very carefully of those patients whom I saw with visual difficulties, -- I assume they had had cataracts some bad been operated on and had cataract removal -- -whether they were diabetic and I understand that while several were, just as many were ll of the catanot, and the diabetic explanation for ● racts and loss of vision does -not seem cr~dib=le. Again -1 this seems to be a radiation effect. As another radiation effect there was a period of time when there were an unusual number of stillbirths or the birth of monstrosities. I ha-<e heard this called the year of t!!e animal, although I understand this phrase to be offensive to those women who bore such offspring and I heard the particular phrase only from men and not commonly used. It was the time k’hen children were born with incompletely formed bodies, incompletely formed arms or legs, or deformed heads. This occurred late, and not in the nine months after a near-by explosion wlien one would expect radiation effects. Moreover it occurred in islands distant enough so that direct radiation effects governed . -4- ..