.

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

Select target paragraph3