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islands, which the Agency calls
“relatively
uncontaminated.”
Meanwhile, the Department of Energy says the atoll’s northern
islands—where the majority of the
43 nuclear tests occurred—should be
off limits for at least 30 years, since
radiation levels are still high there.
Because of the Department ruling.
millions of dollars have been spent
on building houses and community
and
a
on_
replanting
thousands of coconut trees in the
southern islands: but no funds have
been used to rehabilitate the northem islands. This has caused problems among the Enewetak people as.
traditionally, they are divided into
two distinct groups: the Dri-Enjebi in
the northern and Dri-Enewetad in
the south. Accustomed to their own
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already moved back to the southern
facilities
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te
.
The Enewetak people have an in-
tense desire to return home, after 33
years on tiny Ujelang Atoll. And on
the basis of this information. the
Enjebi people voted to returm to their
island in the north. But the objectiv-
ity of the study conducted by Bender
and Brill, whose base is the
government-funded Brookhaven
National Laboratory, has been
questioned. Dr. Rosalie Bertell. a
consultant to the Diviston of Stan-
dard Setting for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, said of the
study:
**The population of Enewetak has
the right to know that a value judgment has been madefor them,
namely that induction of cancer is
their only concern. They may, if in-
formed about hypothyroidism. ap-
lastic anemia, premature aging, be-
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ud
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Brookhaven researchers assess U.S.
government data. . . . The history of
the U.S. testing program wasone of
repeated mistakes and miscalculations."” In his view, ‘‘nongovernment radiation experts”
should be included in all such surveys.®
A May 1979 General Accounting
Office report cautioned that “‘be-
cause of uncertainty of the long term
effects of exposure to lowlevel radi-
ation, it ts possible that the people of
Enewetak could receive doses in excess of current standards.” [t also
urged an independent assessment of
Enewetak by “experts who have no
direct connections with the nuclear
testing program or the Enewetak
cleanup project ... before resettlement of the people begins.’’’ This
report wasinitially withheld from the
Marshall Islands government for
chiefs and land, the Dri-Enjebi are
reluctant to live on another chiefs
land.
nign tumors and other such disorders, make a different judgment.
to exagerate the problem,”’ said Mic-
Corps Volunteer in the Marshalls,
said the problem is “the inherent
threat to their health and safety."'
A small-scale cleanup and. re-
December L980
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists 25
political reasons.
Since deporting an independent
team
of Japanese scientists invited
They ‘reduced’ the radiation dose
In September 1979, the radiologi- of the inhabitants of Enjebi by avby Marshall Islands leaders to investigate the radiation problems in
cal information about Enewetak was eraging in the population less expresented by the Department of En- posed. This is like telling one
1971, the United States has steadergy to the people. Michael Bender raemberof a family his or her risk of fastly refused to allow independent
and Bertrand Brill, two scientists lung cancer is lowered if the other
monitoring of the Marshallese
i hired by Micronesian Legal Services ronsmoking members of the family
people and their environment.
President Lyndon Johnson anthen testified that their study showed are included and an ‘average’ risk
all the islands to be safe for habita- given. It is a scientifically ndiculous nounced in 1968 that Bikini—site of
tion, including northern Enjebi Is23 bomb tests—would be returned to
approach to public health.
land. The chances of adverse effects
Basing a resettlement decision af- its people. who had been living in
were so small. they had concluded, fecting the lives of 500 peaple an the exile since 1946.
that “cancer mortality in the lifetime Bender and Brill inadequate health
In 1969, the Atomic Energy Comof the population is estimated to be assessment would be extremely im- mission said: *‘[there is] virtually no
less than a single case."S They as- prudent.”*”
radiation left on Bikint’” and ‘‘the
serted that the Department of Enexposures to radiation of the Bikini
ergy overstated the risk: “DOF tends
Glen Alcalay, a former Peace people dv not offer a significant
ronesian Legal Service Director Ted
Mitchell.°
conflict
of
interest
in
having
habilitution program was begun and