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.
.,
.;
.-

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.

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
.

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