MINISTRWLOF CONCERN FOR PUBLIC HEALTH ~ U6) B74- 5955 151 EAST STREET’ BUFFALO: NEW ‘YORK: 1420T June6, 1960 Cliff? Sloan Office of Sidney R. Yatos 2234 Rayburn House Office Building | Washington, B,C. Re: . oe, 20515 gt 1 Resettling Enewetak Atoll Dear Mr. Sloan: At the request of the Micronesia Support Committee in Honolulu, I have reviewed the report of Michael Bender and A. Bertrand Brill entitled "Assessment of Radiation Health Effects of the Resettlement of Enewetak Atoll." I am enclosing a copy of my curriculum vitae eo that you will have some evidence of my qualifications for reviewing this document. My research experience has been with human populations exposed to low levels of ionizing radiation. I am a consultant to the comaittees on environmental health problems of the New York 3tate and Wisconsin Medical Associations, a member of the British Columbia Medical Association Committee on environmental heaith, and a consultant to the Division of (Radiation Exposure) Standard Setting for the U.S. Nuclear Regudatory Commission. Frankly, Drs. Bencur anc Brill are writing outside of their area .of scientific expertise. Neither is a biostatiatician or epidemiologist, nor hag either becn among the 127 scientists involved 'in the twenty-year study of the Marshallese conducted through Brookhaven National Laboratozy. They have used infurma- tion from the draft copy of the 1979 BLIR report which is designed to assess generalized effects on a large normal pppulation exposed to radiation. With no appropriate modification, they use these probabilities to predict “health effects" for the small native population of Enewetak Atoll. The level of genetic problems and chronic disease already preaent in this population, their increased susceptibility to future radiation damage (cumulative with that already suffered), and the inadequacy of present knowledge about the long-term fertility and mila mutation effects were complctely ignored. An affiliate of -~ ie " FRA As i an . AG) — Ghbal Education Associates 992 Pork Avt East Orange New Jerey 0701)