AOC SP 4} Draft Position Paper on Future Directions for the BNL Marshall Islands Radiological Safety Program Public Law 96-205 authorizes potentially dramatic increases in health, environmental and educational programs for those islands in the Marshalls which were affected by the U. S. Pacific Testing Programs. It also portends some potential relief for the chronic funding difficulties which the BNL Marshall Island's Radiological Safety Program (MIRSP) has experienced since its inception in 1974. Although P.L. 96-205 leaves the responsibility for initiation, development and management of its mandated programs to the De- partment of Interior (DOI), it seems reasonable to assume that DOI will con- tinue its past policy of relying on the Department of Energy (DOE) and its contractors for expertise in the technical areas of medical care, radiation dosimetry and environmental surveillance. A long-range plan for the MIRSP was developed in July 1979 at the request of Dr. Bruce Wachholz (copy attached). The following report will serve to expand on this in light of the passage of P.L. 96-205 and recent political developments in the Marshall Islands. Comparison of BNL and LLL Radiological Studies Historically, both BNL and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory (LLL) have been involved in performing environmental measurements and dosimetry in the Marshall Islands. In order to avoid possible confusion about duplication of effort, we feel that it would be worthwhile to distinguish between the psat and present activities of the two Laboratories. This should help to assure that the two programs continue to complement one another in the future. In our view, LLL has played the major role in (1) characterizing the radiation environments on contaminated islands, and (2) developing models for long-range predictive dosimetry using the environmental data. In contrast, BNL's past and present role has been in the performance of (1) contemporary personnel monitoring and internal dosimetry for environmentally derived radionuclides, and (2) retrospective dose assessments utilizing past and con- temporary personnel and environmental monitoring data. Wherever possible, the retrospective dosimetry efforts to date have been aimed at defining doses to individuals; however, due to the paucity of historical data on individuals the results have generally tended to be population and subpopulation averages. Contemporary dosimetry programs assess doses to both individuals and to is- land populations and subgroups. Both the retrospective and the contemporary dosimetry programs determine actual doses and radionuclide uptake patterns ex- hibited by individuals, and provide key information to be used in corroborating predictive dosimetry models. Future Directions for the MIRSP As stated in the 1979 long range plan, BNL will deemphasize environ- mental monitoring in view of (1) the expectation that the Northern Marshall Island's Radiological Survey (NMIRS) will rigorously define the environmental factors, (2) the likelihood that LLL will continue its environmental research activities in the Marshalls, and (3) the overriding need for personnel moni- 5600344