as you know,

is the island to which the Bikinians were

"temporarily" moved in 1948, and it is today the home for
the majority of the 1,000 people of Bikini.
The October 1980 dose assessment meeting must be
placed in its proper historical context.

In May 1979,

nine

months after Bikini had been evacuated for the second time,
-the U.S. Department of Energy

(DOE) wrote to the U.S. Interior

Department concerning the possibility of resettling Eneu Island.

In this letter, DOE stated that the uncertainties involved in
estimating long-term radiation doeses on Eneu were similar to
those regarding Enewetak Atoll.
tainties,

As a result of these uncer-

an environmental impact statement prepared for the

resettlement of Enewetak had recommended a tighteninoe of
applicable U.S.
to 250 millirem.

radiation guidelines from 500 millirem per year
Applying the 250 millirem standard to Eneu,

DOE concluded that "even with imported food the radiation doses
to the people on Eneu could not be expected to be in complianc
with the

[250 millirem] criteria for about 20-25 years."
Based upon this information,

the U.S.

Interior

Department promptly informed the Bikinians that Eneu could no
longer be considered as a resettlement site.

Jur’

1,

leaders

1979,

By letters dated

the Interior Department wrote to the Bikini

stating:

Select target paragraph3