/ ( ee. Mr. Thomas S. Dunmre , -2- “CF x. . P.L. 88-485 provided $950,000 (less 5% for legal fees) in equal pzyments ‘to 82 exposed inhabitants of Rongelep Atoll or their heirs. The . individual payments amounted to about .$11,000. P.L. 88-485 contained "a provision to the effect that "payment made under the provisions of this. oon ee ae 4. Act shall be /in full settlement and discharge of all claims against the . United States arising out of the ‘thermonuclear detonation on March 1, © . .1954,.". That release provision operated to discharge all obligations of.. ‘the U.S. Govertiment; including any that might arise from further damage suffered by the inhabitents. However, the statute expressed the wish ‘of Congress to assume "compassionate responsibility" to compensate the Rongelapese for their "radiation exposures."’ The failure to anticipate Oe pete health effects that were not evident at the tine the legislation was undex consideration -by the Congress but wnich-have become apparent since then _. zi, could provide the basis for reopening the issue of compensation. ‘It is'well know thet radiation injury may give rise to tumor develorsent after a period of many years. Tne inadequacy of the period of observation _until 1963 for the occurrence or detection of such late effects was expressed in a letter dated March 14, 1963, from John A. Carver, Jr., Assistant Secretary of the Interior, to Hon. Weyne N. Aspinall, Chairman, Cononittee on Interior and Insuler Affairs, Eouse of Representatives. The letter is . included ia H.R. Raport No. 110, part of the legislative history of P.L. 88-685, The relevaat portions of the letter are as follows: In the period immedisi gelapase were efie rrected by nausea and itching, a substantial number susteined temporary sin burns, and somewnat less than half sustained .som2 degree of loss of hair, also tesporary. In some cases there ‘remain some scarring and pigment change at the former site of deeper burns but no evidence of cancerous change in these scars has been noted, In all of the Rongelapese there wes significant depression of their blood-forming organs during the 2 months following exposure; recovery hes taken place in the ye: ‘s since and the counts are now generally considered within normal canges, althovgh there are a few instances where the counts are lower than in comparable unaffected individuals. There is, to date, no evidence of leukemia nor of radiation illness. Further, whether or not the radiation has had any life-shortening effects is not apparent. It does appear, however, that bone development in young children who were affected by the fallout may have been retarded, and also that there is a possibility of a somewhat greater incidence of miscarriages and stillbirths among the exposed women. Neither sufficient time has elapsed nor sufficient knowledge acquired to permit positive conclusions to be drawn as to the long-range effect of the fallout on the Rongelapese. oO | DOE ARCHIVES