doubled because of the influx of relatives who had *. . ce aea: mesa — = . v. « come back from other islandsto live with them. These people had been away from Rongelap Atoll at the time of the accidental exposure. This group matched reasonablywell for age and sex and was of comparable size. Since the return of the people to Rongelap, however, this group has about doubledin size. Since the people are of the same stock genetically, they are uniquely appropriate to serve asa comparison population and have, therefore, been used since 1957. 1961 Survey — The medical team consisted of six medical specialists, five from the United States and one from the Trust Territory; one dentist from the Trust Territory; one Marshallese practitioner; and ten technicians, five from the United States andfive from the Trust Territory (Figure 2). ‘ —ee a » cee ee eae ete ee . Organization and Procedures * me "mn Ae ce | RRS The medical equipment had been sent out to the Islands prior to the team’s arrival, and preliminary preparations had been madeforlogistic support of the operation by the Navy Pacific Missile Range group and the Holmes and Narver contractors at Eniwetok. Before the survey at Rongelap, the team visited Kwajalein and Majuro for several days to carry ‘out examinations on a number of Rongelap people who had movedto these islands. The Trust Territory provided a cargo ship, the M/V Roque (Figure 5), to transport the team and to serve as a base of operations. In mid-March the ship proceeded from Majuro to Eniwetok, where the medical equipmentandthe 21-ton steel room for whole-body gamma measurements(Figure 6), which wasstored there, were loaded on the ship. The onloadingof the latter was a difficult House, the medical examinations to be conducted and the reasons for them were explained. The people expressed continued concern about the effects of fallout on their health, but to no greater extent than at meetings during past surveys. As in the past, they claimedthat fish poisoning was related to the fallout, and said that certain fish have a black spot in their abdomens, which they believe to be due to radioactivity and to cause sickness in those eating suchfish. It was again explained to them thatfish poisoning was in no way related to the fallout. A new complaint wasthat several families had developed inflammation and blistering of the mouth and upset stomachs from eating arrowrootflour which they felt was affected by fallout. It was explained thatthis type ofeffect has been notedin otherislands when the flouris not properly prepared. They asked whethercoconut crabs could be eaten yet and were told that these werestill not safe but that continuoustests would be carried out and that they would beinformed whenthe crabs had reached a low enough level of contamination, This is the only item in their diet which they are forbidden to eat. Another complaint was that the coconuts were small! and that certain changes had been notedin the coconut and pandanustrees which theybelieved resulted from failout. Despite the above complaints the people were very friendly and cooperated with the examining team in all aspects of the examination thatfollowed. EXAMINATION FACILITIES Whole-body gamma spectroscopy was carried out in the cargo hold of the ship. The air-condi- we © metemeeintesitiatamemtiaaaimedmennnn diiitaiieend eee ee me se and exacting procedure, but was carried out re- markably smoothly by the Holmes and Narver personnel. The steel room and a wooden room to house the electronic equipment were placed in the cargo hold of the ship, and wooden stairs were installed for access into the hold. On completion of loading theship, refueling, and taking on fresh water, the team boarded the ship and proceeded to Rongelap. The one-day trip was quite rough, since the ship was heading into the strong prevailing trade winds, but the steel room and equipment remained secure. The ship dropped anchor about 1000 yards off shore at Rongelapvillage. Onarrival, an outrigger canoe came alongside the ship with the Magistrate of the village, who came aboard. The objectives of our visit to Rongelap were discussed with him, and it was considered advisable to hold a village meeting so that the proposed examinations could be explainedto the people and any questions they might have could be answered. During the village meeting, held in the Council - TO AngNe ee ee