Significantly,
in a similar context -- the nuclear
Cleanup of Enewetak Atoll - another U.S. Government agency
has strongly argued in favor of a truly independent assessment.
In a May 8,
1979 report to the U.S. Congress prepared
by the U.S. General Accounting Office, the Comptroller General
of the United States stated
(p. 18):
Significant radiological aspects of the cleanup
portion of the Enewetak Atoll project have not
been independently assessed by organizations with
no connection or interest in the nuclear testing
program.
This situation could conceivably raise
guestions on the objectivity of the project.
Independent assessments are, in our opinion,
unequivocally dictated by the importance of the.
project to the peoples of Enewetak and the United
States.
Supporting this is the recent Bikini
incident [and] the uncertain, long-term effects
of exposure to low level
(Emphasis added.)
ERI,
radiation
.
led by internationally respected nuclear
scientists, has submitted a modest budget and scope of work
to DOE setting forth the minimum tasks it must perform in
order to
"assist
[the Bikinians}
in making a decision with
respect to resettlement," which is required by the courtapproved
agreement.
These tasks,
as noted above, must include
an independent collection and radiological measurement of
samples from Bikini Atoll.
ERI must also take into account
documents reviewing the dosage of radioactivity people received
fron living on Bikini Island in the 1970's as well as the
comparative medical
status of the Bikinians.
The goal of this