Dr. Rodert vonard, Brookhaven National Laboratory. . ve + . . f svented at Inter-Acency Meetin( Sept. 19, 1975 403095 ’ A REVIEW OF PERSONNEL MONITORING AT BIKINI As a result of the recent meeting at Kili by Trust Territory, ERDA and Mieronesian Legal Service officials concerning restrictions on rehabilitation of Bikini it is apparent that there are several points of misunderstanding in the minds of the Bikini people concerning statements I have made regarding the radiological safety of Bikini. Before reviewing the radiological monitoring obtained on the people living at Bikini I would like to clarify some of the confusion. First, at the time of the Ad Hoc Committee meeting, the visit of the Trust Territory and AEC officials to Kili in 1968 and my visit to the island in 1969, the statements made about the radiological safety of Bikini were justified based on the survey data compiled at that time. Subsequent analyses of personnel monitoring data on the people living at Bikini showed low levels of vadicactivity in the pcoole confirming the original conclusions. In all sincerity, I disclosed this as additional assurance to the people living there. Based on these findings I would not hesitate to live in one of the houses on Bikini. I am sad about the statements a few people made about me at the Kili meeting. I have great friendship and respect for the people of Bikini and in no way and at any time have IT tried to mislead thea. From the beginning there wore certain restrictions concerning rehabilitation of Bikini. It is only very recently that radiological survey data has made it necessary to impose further restrictions. I would like to clear up another point of confusion regarding "medical" examinations. We have never done medical examinations on the Bikini people for possible radiation effects. The reason is that the radiation levels are so low that such examinations are not necessary. For this reason it is wrong for anyone to accuse us of using the people living at Bikini to study radiation ° Pel WR em nae ent ry. re " ra ae : > Fo BEST COPY AVAILABLE ae ae ea camming we 7 my ome oe . Bye a ARRee , . f FO EN