Mr. Wallace C. Green July 18, 19896 Pepe Two It is zy sincere belief thet these "oversights" will be corrected with the nevly enacteé Public Le 96-205, ed I have faith thet the newly appointed Director of the Broovhaven-Narshells “edicel progren (Dr. Eugh Prett) end his medical team will remedy mary of the past maladies which have afflicted the past prerran. IW 0 f3 I } Cite Tre present question concerming the proposed resettlement of bi presents us with en eniseme involving e rediologicel cost-benefit = islysis, emc in liseht of the recent historical fissec ct Tikini, it seems eporopriete to proceed with extreme caution as we arproach the termination of the United Nations Trust Agreement with vicronesie. ‘ve mist allow humanitarian concernsvYoutveigh short-sighted political 4 expediencies, anc the entire history of United States administration in the islands clearly bespeaks tne neec for prudence at this tine. It has been maintained thet the Injebi people favor a returmto their ancestral islend, despite the potential health risks involved in such @ return. Counsel for tne Mevetak people -- Mr. Theodore Nitchell of Micronesian Legal Services -=- has communicated to me that the newetak people truly understanc the rediction hazards involved with their proposed return, and moreover, thet the Mewetak people (including the Injebi islanders) are prevared to live with those risks. I must say, based upon my experience of having lived on an outer island in the Marshalls for two years, and coupled with my current ereaduate reseerch concerning the sociocultural effects of radiation in the Marshalls, tnat if the Enjebi people truly understood the longterm effects of residual low-level radiation, then perhaps they might not be so eager to return to their contaminated island. I of course sympathize with the Injebi peoples’ desire to return home after their 33 year exile, and I cannot question the sincerity of the Mewetak counsel in attempting to relocate his clients. But I certainly question the supposed “understanding” by the Mmjebi people of the long-term effects of residual low-level radiation, which is itself a major source of controversy amongst the leading radiation experts, both in this country and abroad. For example, there 1s a new German study entitled "Radiological essessment of the Whyl Nuclear Fower Plant" (or commonly knowm as the "Heidelberg Study"), which seriously questions the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's standards about radiation emissions from nuclear power plants to outlying communities. This study, which is listed as "NRC translation 520," states that "previous NRC exposure models and transfer factors for concentrations of radionuclides in foodchains are inaduquate." The findings of this German study are directly applicable to the Enjebi health risk assessment question, and the study illustrates the uncertainties connected with low-level radiation assessments and risks.