The Salt Lake ‘Tr'bame, Teeaday, Febroary 21,1973
U.S. Admiis Islands Error.
diagnosed in Paul Cooper in February, 1976, two
Continued From Page 19
from the LOH detonation.
Scurces on the House health and environment
subccmmittee expect that United States nuclear:
testing in the Pacific Ocean will be scrutinized along
Because there is a lack of concrete answers to:
critical health questions, Dr. Kotrady argues that the
scope of US. involvement in the islands ought to be
broadened to include general health care. ‘The
government is still preoccupied with what Dr,
Kotrady judges to be an ordained set of health
ynth the Nevada series. If so, the story of the 1954
Marshsi Islands accident will be fleshed out.
Radiation from the incident is blamed for the high
rate of both benign and malignant thyroid tumors
developed in the natives, the bulk of it materializing
some 22 years after the fact. The U.S. admits this.
Event Recalled
Need Screening-
considerably more yield than had been expected.
Sometjow, authonties theught the yield would be
{rors five to seven wiegatons,
When the people of Rongelap talk about the
fallout derosit.
“For the people, there iss great psychological and
sociological effect. They lost their abilities to conduct
their native way of life. depending on U.5. bandouts.
Their word for radiatiou is poison and they have seen
how the ocisen affects their bodies and they are
afraid of what it may do to them and their children in i
the future
This region, Micronesia, is a U.S. Trost Territory
of the Pacifle Islands. It is just north of the equator,
east of the Caroline Islands and northwest of the
Gilbert Islands, about balfway between the Hawaiian
-
The Marshall islands were chosen a an atomic
= oan eee
.
.
Don't Understand”
:
Sos
‘iethey don't clearly understand radiation. But ~:
bomb proving ground first in 1948’and numerous tests
vere cobducted at both Bikin and Eniwetok votil a
.
ties
moratorium was declared in 1958,
It was four years too late in the minds of the
sthey*ve been sick from radiation and they've seen at |
Jeast one child die, and they've seen one-third or ‘.
more of the people taken-to the United States and | -
Marshallese.
“Actually, adverse bealth effects did not show
themselres for some years. With one exception. One
of the rfishermten on the Lucky Dragon died six
mootibs aiter:“theexplosion, a.visto ot radiation
i
*
accident, the doctor said, they describe it as a mist or
snow. They say they could see their footpriats in the
A japanese fishing boat in the area, the Lucky
Dragoa, with 2) fishermen aboard, was also exposed,
a fact witich received widespread news coverage.
aeaEDS,
.
It was with this issue that the physician and
Brookhaven has felt that certain problems are to be
expected from the radiation and did not sea the merit
in mountirg a generai medical program ty determine
:
what crises, if any, may occurs in the future,
drift over and depesit fallout on the inhabited atolls to
tbe east: Rongelap with 64 peopla, Ailingnae with 18
people, Rongerik with 2 American servicemen and
Utirik with 157 peopie.
POY
the 1954 exposure, screening ought to be going on
now, says Or. Kotrady.
Brookhaven parted company. Dr. Katrady said
Then, an unpredicted shift in the winds in the
upper abnosphere caused the radicactive cloud to
ourns.
1
If genetic dilemmas develop in the future:—a
‘worry that preoceupies the island people — born of
Thi thermonuclear device, Bravo, was detonated
froma tower at Hikinl, At IT Wegatons, this was
.
-
problems believed stemming from radiation.
This is what happened,
tie
{
:
years pricr to his death
There ad been earlier eases of radiation burns, .,
loss of hair, diarrhea and depressed blood counts
‘
among the island people but no one died drom these’
:
inival preslems, said Dr. Kotrady.
'
i
There was also an increase of miscarriages ‘and:
stillbirths among exposed women during the first five.
years after the explosion, but blame for this has been
put as much on general health and disease incidence
as on radiation exposure.
Currently, Mr, Bakal is representing the widow of
an ex-Marine who died of lymphosarcoma last
Octeoer, Charles A. Broudy had been exposed to
radioactive debris on a ship that had been in the
vicinity of Bikini Atoll when a nuclear device
was
Uetonated in 143. He also witmessed three Nevada
blasts in 1957,
Islands anc Australia, :
92
tubure holds for them or-their children,” said Dri:
opt
, Kotrady,
.
34°04 result, be said, is a growingdistrust “for |
ge Amerbrew dociors. Thay fear they ore net beirg told |
'
That fact was widely SEted and, despite’‘the t
fact that the United States began to pump health ..
‘ services and health care dollars into the Islands, the
tsiand peoples were still largely forgotten, said Dr.
Botrady, the former Brookhaven physician. »
thermonuclear accident, and the conduct af testing in.
the Nevada desert are somewhat uneven.-401 |
=.)
For one thing, the radiation doses were; probably
‘Theexposed Islanders were first examined after ¢
much higher in the islands. Radiation burns were : *
the blast by order of the Atomic Energy Commission.
Navy doctors, in the majority, did the health surveyy, * . much more common with the isLand peopie than with *
soldiers in the Nevada desert for nuclear wartare »
focusing on radiation effects. In 1956. they were
turned over to tha Brookbaven Nationaal Laboratory.
training roaneuvers.
‘
Too, kt may be that the United States will not be:
Since then they have been conducted in conjunction
with the Department of Health Services of the Trust
Territory, armed services medical specialists and
porseanel fora various US. medical centers.
{interestingly, while this monitoring has been
~,
induced delayed leukemiasin fighting men.
a4
:
i
going on for years, aimed at the cative peoples, no
mdical follow-up was made on the 2 Anierican
t
sefvicemen stationed on Roagerik and exposed, said
Dr, Kotrady. He said that to his knowledag the U.S.
doesn't know where they are pow,
et
Another parallel, be said, to the Lack of medical
follow-up on the servicemen assigned to the Nevada
testing.
Lo 1963, medical interest in the islands tookon new
momentum with the appearance of growth retardation 31 some children and some thyroid abnormalities
— nw developing as benign and malignant thyroid
tumors.
Then, in 1972, a 19-year-old Rongelap -youth
exposed in 1954 developed a fatal case of acuta
myelogenous Icukemia. That is the same disease.
\
found alle in exposing troops, like Paul Cooper and °
others, te lowdevel fonizing radiation that allegedly - °
i
{
‘families... icin the eco A US. denials of claims a
by the ex-soldiera who have cancers and are turning21
_Up in a larger than expected Incidence rate.
But recently, through congressional pressure and i
the pressure applied by the late Paul Cooper, the
National Research Council’s Medical Follow-up
Agency has planned an extensive study of-men
|
* assigned to the Nevada testing. That does not mean
there will be compensation, however.
Meanwhile, Dr. Hotrady is aligning himself with
those wha maintain the United States erred in
Nevada, just as it did, and admailts it did, at the Bildnl
Atoll.