. Db a i BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC. . Ci ul i Upton, New York 11973 & ACU SEEC) Safety & Environmental Protection Division (516) BMB- 282-4259 - -” July 24, 1981 R Mr. T. F. McCraw Division of Health and Environmental Research U.S. Department of Energy Washington, DC 20545 Dear Tommy: This letter is in response to the requests made during our phone con- versations of July 10 and 13, 1981. These were: 1. Determine what was told or reported to the Rongelap people concerning use of the northern islands of Rongelap Atoll. Use trip reports, BNL publications, log books and personal communications. 2. Determine what use can be made of the northern islands in the future. To answer the first issue, discussions were conducted with Bob Conard, Vic Bond, Bill Scott, Allyn Seymour, Tony Greenhouse, and Lauren Donaldson. Many of these persons were mentioned in the first discussion with Bob Conard. Other names were given during discussions with these people. In addition, trip reports, field notebooks, BNL reports, and other documentation were used. The second issue required an analysis of past and current external exposure rate data, followed by internal and external dose equivalent projections. Each issue is addressed in a separate summary. Summary of Past Use of the Northern Islands of Rongelap Atoll Over the years since their resettlement in 1957, Bob Conard has partici- pated in numerous discussions with the Rongelap people. He recalls questions asked by the people concerning land use and food items from the northern islands that were restricted. Questions concerning land use were directed to Ed Held from the University of Washington. Ed had been involved in early environmental studies on Rongelap and had been there during several medical team visits. From 1974 on, and until recently, environmental questions were directed to Tony Greenhouse, of the BNL Safety and Environmental Protection Division. Dr. Conard reported that the BNL medical team primarily was responsible for development and declaration of food restrictions. He indicated that the eating of coconut crab (Birgus Latro) was forbidden, if the crab was gathered from any island of Rongelap Atoll. or early 1970's During the late 1960's =~. = i