The Interior Department has not reached any definitive position with respect to the scope of the plan required, or of the program to arise from it. -It would welcome the early expressions of views from any source as to the requirements of the statute. Preliminarily, the Interior Department suggests that the most reasonable reading of the statute appears to be that the Secretary's plan should provide for comprehensive health care for the inhabitants of the four listed atolls -- Bikini, Enewetak, vengelap, and Utirik; and that the inhabitants of additional atolls should also be afforded comprehensive health care if they have been affected by radiation from the nuclear weapons testing program. In deciding whether the inhabitants of additional atolls have been so affected, the Secretary would consider information: obtained from on-site health evaluations of the people of those atolls, and other relevant evidence “~csented to him. Mt General procedure. The Interior Department proposes to enter meses negotiated contract with a suitable institution to obtain advice 5 to the health care program required by subsection (a) (1), quoted ~-. ve. In order to meet the statutory deadline of January 1, 1981, for Submission of the plan to the Congress, it will be necessary that the “itractor's advice be received by the Interior Department by midNovember. Given the magnitude of the task to be performed by the contractor, clearly such a contract must be entered into as soon as possible. The Interior Department has asked the Department of Energy to provide cdvice to Interior by mid-November 1980 as to the details of the schedule required by subsection (a) (2), pertaining to environmental research and monitoring, radiation dose assessments, and risk estimates, and the education and information program required by subsection (a) (3). The “soartment of Energy has agreed to provide this detailed advice by that te. 4. Background information to be supplied to proposed contractors. vise Dépariment of the Interior proposes to supply the following information co prospective contractors: (a) Rongelap and Utirik The medical monitoring and follow-up care program of the exposed people of Rongelap and Utirik atolls commenced after the Bravo Shot Fallout of March 1, 1954. This program has been the responsibility of the Atomic “nergy Commission, the Energy Research and Development Administration, and now the Department of Energy. The medical monitoring and follow-up u€dical care program of the exposed residents of these two atolls, and for members of selected "comparison" groups, has from the onset of the program been contracted to the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Associated Universities, Upton, New York.