ing was heid to expiain the findings.*° At such meetings, problems and fears were discussed and we attempted to correct misconceptions and explain the possible effects of radiation. Due to language difficulties. itwas not easy to be sure about the interpretation of our remarks; indeed, as time went on. it became apparentthat our explanations were not being fully understood. This is not surprising. People with more sophisticated backgrounds than the Marshallese have difficuity in understanding radiation andits effects and, as with the Marshallese, the issue is often charged with emotion. D. Brief Summary of Medical Findings The following is a brief summaryof the medical findings. Detailed findings have been published in numerous BNL reports and medical journals (References. Section A). Examinations of the exposed Rongelap people at six months showed that they had largely recovered from the acute effects and were generaily in good heaith: no deaths were attributable to radiation exposure. There was further recovery of the blood elements, though they were not yet up to normal levels. The skin burns had healed with slight scarring and pigmentation changes in a few people, and hair had regrown to its normal color and texture. The mostserious late consequences offallout exposure of the Marshallese have been the developmentof thyroid abnormalities and probably one fatality due to leukemia. Except for the ’ thyroid abnormalities, the general health and mortality of the exposed Marshallese have been similar to that of the unexposed Marshatlese populations, with about the same incidence and types of diseases. During the first few years, there was an increase in miscarriages and still- births in the exposed Rongelap women, but the numbers were small and it is uncertain if this increase was related to radiation effects. Based on birth rate, fertility has been about the same in the exposed and in the unexposed groups. The exposed people have not aged faster than unexposed people. At ten years post-exposure, the chromosomesin cultures of white blood cells from the people of Rongelap revealed a small number of aberrations which appeared to be 1Dresentiy, people are mven copies of their medical records and proposed treatment. and any special tests are discuased with the nailese practitioner. 2 2904173 related to radiation exposure but were not asso- ciated with any ciinical findings (A-27). Some of the findings had been noted in studies of the Japanese fishermen (A-55) and Japanese exposed to the atomic bomb (A-63). Examinations of babies and childrenof | exposed parents for possible inherited effects of radiation have not revealed any unusual congenital anomalies. Although inheritance of radiation-induced genetic mutations has been seen in animal studies, such effects have not been demonstrated unequivocally in humans. Studies on large numbersof children born of exposed Japanese parents at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of whom received larger amountsof radiation than the Marshallese, have not demonstrated anyclearcut genetic effects (A-28). James Neal was unable to dem- - onstrate any inherited genetic effects in blood samples from the Marshallese (A-30) and in view of the dose of radiation and the smail numbers of Marshallese invoived, it seems unlikely that such effects will be detectable in this or future generations. Regular examination of the eyes, including slit-lamp studies for cataracts, have not revealed any radiation- induced effects. An unexpected finding has been thefailure of some blood elements (white blood cells and platelets) in the exposed Rongelap people to completely recover to levels in the control group. There has been concern that this slight depression might lower resistance to disease. However, compared with the unexposed population (typesof diseases and resistance to diseases), the exposed people do not show any sucheffect. The studies of the Japanese exposed to the A-bombs and other studies in humans have reveaied that certain types of cancer are more likely to occur from such exposure, such as leukemia, cancers of the thyroid, stomach, and breast (A-31). Therefore, we emphasized cancer detection in the examinations. We knew that the thyroid glands of the exposed people had received larger doses of radiation than other partsof the body because the thyroid selectively absorbs the several forms of radioactive iodine in the fallout. ~ Therefore, the thyroid glands were examined carefully each year. However, the development of thyroid abnormalities was not expected since the early dose estimates for the thyroid were considered too low. Later, the dose estimates were revised upward and the importance of sev-