x BNL BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY AVI ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC. UPTON, Lil, N.Y. 11973 BOLO TevepHoKe: (516) 345-39 7? MEDICAL DEPARTMENT September 17, 1975 Senator Olympio T. Borja, Chairman Special foine Comalcttes Concerning Rongelap end Utirik Atolis Congress of Micronesia Saipan, Mariana Islands R 96950 i ee ere Dear Senator Borja: This is in response to a letter from Brian Farley (Aug. 27, 1975) containing questions regarding the compensation of Rongelap and Utirik people exposed to fallout. I have numbered the questions on a copy of your letter and present the followlng auswers by these numbers: (1) Ze would not he feastble to grade compensation with regard to degree of thyroid injury in the surgical cases since it is not: possible to quantify degree of injury or amount of heaithy thyroid. cissue remaining after surgery. In any event thyroid replacement therapy used restores the nemunl metabolite state (dependent on thyroid function). The thyroid cancer cases follewing surgery have been asymotematic and have shewn no evidence of recurvence. Such recurrence is extremely unlikely since it is alveacy well beyond the time (5 years) of usual recurrence. In anever to your query about the cases in whom the thyroid has ceased to function we have vecoumended (see attached letter to Me. Rice) inclusion for cone pensation of the tivo young Ronzelan men who had atrophy of the thyroid With growth retardation. wonan Whe had a Also recomended for compensation was a Rongelap vonthyroid neurofibroma surcically renioved from her neck. ee oosne. Thisstumermuseyrhaye-beencrele ted=te-exposure. (2) Tree to theiy chort radioactive life, none of the radLofodines involved in thyroid tumor production remained on the island when the people moved back to Ronzelap., Only emall amounts of other isotopes mt ae (principally 90sr and 1378) remainod, which unlike radLoiodines are not selectivaly absorbed by the thyroid gland. Therefore the thyroid gose from tnese isotopes and from a slight amount of gamna radiation wag for belew that known to produce tumors of the thyroid or other effaccs on tha body. The finding of about the same incldence of such tumors in tha pooulation Living on an uncontaminated iLsland in Likiep atoll favored nonradiation involvement. The thyroid tumors in the Utirik population, one cf which was malignant, have to be considered in a difigerent licht since the thyroida in this group received some radioiodine exposure. However, the dose received was quite low and cince the lucidence of henign tumors of the thyvold was about the sama os in the Renrelay contret and Liktep population Lt seema extremely un- tiftely that vadtaticn was involved. This contcnticn is suvported by the fack that most of the tumors vere in thea older age proup (as found in unexposed populations) and oniy one case ef nodularity developed in INFORMATION OPERATOR (516) 345-2124 SOU | L \