MANGEADO UU SY BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE complementary and thus produce the maximum amount of data, the British Medical Rese Council planned to sponsor a conference at Harwell on April 26, 1957. Three AEC geneti were selected to attend the conference. ch sts REPATRIATION OF THE RONGELAPESE The Commission has determined that the degree of contamination on Rongelap Atoll h declined to an acceptable level for the return of the Rongelapese to their home island as shon as rehabilitation procedures have been completed. The Rongelapese, the last of the Mars Islanders to be returned to their home island, were evacuated from the atoll after the fall of radioactive fission products from the March 1, 1954, detonation in the Eniwetok Provin Ground. Medical Examinations Since their exposure to radioactive fallout in 1954, the Marshallese have received fou complete medical examinations. The most recent examination was made in March 1957. liminary reports on this examination indicated no illnesses or other clinical conditions whlch could be related to radiation effects, and the people appeared to be recovering satisfactorily from radiation exposure. Blood counts. Although statistical analyses of blood examinations had not been compldted, it appeared that the blood cell counts were about equal to those in the unexposed people examined, Skin burns from beta radiation showed continued improvement, and there were new indi cations that pigment was returning in burn areas. There was no evidence of any malignanc in any of the scars resulting from radiation burns. Body radioactivity. Because urinalyses made in 1956 showed little remaining body radioactivity, a more sensitive measure of residual activity was used in the 1957 examination. Four persons from Rongelap, two from Utirik, and one unexposed person from Majuro, wh served as a control for the experiment, were brought to Argonne National Laboratory, whee total body radioactivity was measured in the Human Radiation Detector (“Iron Room”). De tectable amounts of activity were still present, but they were only several times higher th those found in people in other parta of the world and were well below the accepted toleranc levels. Deaths. The only deaths among the Rongelap people since the 1956 survey were one still-birth and the death of an infant a few hours after birth as a result of infection. These deaths were not believed to be related to radiation effects. Utirik. About 130 people who had been exposed to slight amounts of fallout on the islari of Utirik were also examined. They were found generally to be in good health, with no iil- decay indicated that dose rates at the time of repatriation will be less than 30 milliroentgems per week. It was also estimated that the gamma dose on Rongelap will be about 0.5 roentge 38 UNCLASSIFIED paren pomp The radiation survey of Rongelap Island in July 1956 showed gamma values ranging frop 0.2 to 0.5 milliroentgen per hour, with an average of 0.4 milliroentgen per hour. Estimatesjof Pith Rain etme External Gamma Dose Rates aoe nesses or clinical conditions which could be related to radiation effects. Radiation could nd be established as a factor in the six deaths which had occurred on Utirik during the threeyear period. This death rate was not considered to be unusual.