possible we would like not to be in the position of telling people what
-
they must or should do but rather of informing them of the degree of risk
and permitting them to accept risk if that is their choice and to contro)
their own lives rather than asking us to control them.
we are saying it is different.
So, perhaps the way
It is very easy to say that we can avoid
excess radiation exposure at Rongelap by not eating coconut crabs, at all,
because there aren't many on the southern islands and they are on the
northern islands.
We would choose not to do that but certainly if the
council, the people at Rongelap, should want to make that decision it fs
much more, they have a much greater righ: ti. do that than we do.
deBrum (in Enclish):
I was taken by your explanation that ... I didn't pay
any attention... Let me try it the best way I can.
(Oscar translated the
above into Marshallese)
Marshallese:
I think I detect one of the reasons these kind of questions
are coming up, is that the people have their own council and also some
other sources of scientific data or doctors that come to check them and
sometimes that they have asked wel] what were you told by the DOE people
and then they say, well that's inaccurate or that's certainly not so, they
are misleading you or deceiving you.
puzzled.
And so, that is why we are really
This makes for a lot of misunderstanding, so it is difficult now
for us to really know what to do when we get that kind of information from
different sources, so, I] think that is one of the reasons why we are having
these questions.
Ray:
well, if that's the case it seems to me that this is a very wholesome
exchange and that we should and do encourage a discussion with those
advisors, those council] members, those experts.
And, we have freely made
available to any legitimate representatives or advisors of the people, all
of the information that we have.
We welcome their advice and you know in
the case of the Bikini people we cooperated extensively with the counselors
and advisors that they retained.
4nd we stand, certainly, willing and
ready, and these documents are available, as I said earlier this morning,
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