avout radiological conditions in their atolls have not been . answered satisfactorily by DOE's Marshallese/English booklet that evaluated radiological conditions in the Marshalls in terms of risk and cancer fatalities instead of using radiation standards. The Marshallese, to my knowledge, have never argued against use of standards or complained that they were not applicable. This booklet may be a factor of confusion rather than education for the Marshallese. The full dimension of the-technical aspects of this problem in. the Marshalls and the reasons for DOE's loss of credibility with the Rongelapese, are not well known within DOE. Dissatisfaction with the advice they have received reached serious proportions in April 1983 when a party of DOE visitors were interrupted in a meeting with the people on Rongelap by an irate citizen and had to leave the island. The meeting on Rongelap was never resumed and the people’s anger and mistrust (of DOE) has been-allowed to fester. Many of us who have worked in the Marshalls have been frustrated by the burdensome dietary restrictions, and we have seen the hardships caused by the loss of use of fallout contaminated islands. All of this is being imposed by application of radiation protection standards mandated by Washington bureaucrats. Right or wrong, I. have argued that exposures not found acceptable for the U.S. population are also not acceptable in the Marshalls, and that radiological criteria should be the same from atoll to atoll. This, of course, is not compatible with the idea that the population of each atoll should make its own judgment. Short of acting against Federal policies, or having the Department of Interior (DOI) mount a successful effort to get an exemption from these policies, the DOE appears to have no valid alternative but to continue to apply current radiation standards in the Marshalls. Turning radiological judgments over to the people was a drastic unilateral action. This appears to have been a profcundly disturbing experience for some Marshallese and an action that undermined confidence in DOE and in the United Statcs Government. The new advice that was obviously intended to give freedom of choice has backfired. The Rongelap people foliowed the advice they were given, made the judgment not to accept the risk, 90015449 and left their atoll.