4O1777 . . . . United States Department of the interior Ny y ‘e vr Lf OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240 July 6, 1979 Dr. Hugh Pratt Medical Department Brookhaven National Laboratory Associated Universities, Inc. Upton, Long Island, New York 11973 Dear Dr. Pratt: I enclose a copy of a letter dated July 6, 1979, to Mr. Jonathan Weisgall, Legal Counsel for the people of Bikini, on a question which was raised with respect to the people who were evacuated in August 1978 from Bikini Island and who also were alleged to have resided on Rongelap on March 1, 1954. I enclose also a copy of the "Notes" on the June 13 meeting in which this question was raised, (See Item No. 10.) The letter is self-explanatory. It does not seem possible to us that 40 of the remaining 65 original Rongelap fallout victims would have ended up living on Bikini Island in 1977-78. From our records here we can identify only one person, Titikoj Laurem, who was in the 1954 Bravo fallout on Rongelap and who also was evacuated from Bikini in August 1978. Could you have your lists checked. I realize that variant names sometimes are used and that the people of the Marshalls move around a great deal but the statement that almost 60% of the remaining Rongelap fallout victims had moved to Bikini Island by 1977-78 doesn't seem to be borne out by any records we have here. Your comments would be appreciated. Sincerely yours, Mrs. Ruth G. Van Cleve Director Office of Territorial Affairs Enclosures ce: |Dr. Walter Weyzen 011434