a | 401568 - . 7 coe BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY ER ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC. Upton, New York 11973 Medical Department (516) 345- 3577 November 17, 1977 The Honorable Adrian Winkel High Commissioner Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950 Dear Mr. Winkel, I was sorry I was not able to meet with you in September whenyou had to leave Saipan unexpectedly for Washington. I am delighted about your plans for the increased subsidization of the Bikini diet. Mrs. Van Cleve sent me a copy of your plans along with lists of food supplements and proposed menues. It looks like this should greatly improve their nutritional status and hopefully will deter them from eating the local produce. Tf am having our dietician look it over in case she might have any suggestions. It would be great if we could improve the diet of the Marshallese in general, perhaps by making a greater variety of foods available to the outer islands on the field trip ships and by education. I understand you had two nutritionists go to Bikini and one of them a Marshallese lady, live with the people for a while to instruct them in ways to increase variety and wholesomeness of their diets. This sounds like an excellent approach. It might be a good idea for me to take this lady along on our medical survey in MarchApril, if she is willing, to evaluate the diets of the people at Rongelap and Utirik and perhaps advise them about ways to improve their diet. As you may know, diabetes is a serious problem in the Marshallese and about the only feasible treatment in the outer island's is dietary. In the enclosed letter to Masao Kumangai I told about our new medical personnel we are getting into the program and our hopes to establish a laboratory trailer adjacent to the Ebeye Hospital. I was glad to hear about your plans for improving the hospital. Perhaps we may be able to find some surplus medical equipment here which would be useful in the hospital. I also mentioned in the letter referred to above, the hope that we can at some time resolve the confusion surrounding PL-5-52 (C.O.M.) and the agreement reached between ERDA~TT, which are quite different. The Rongelap and Utirik people apparently consider this a very important law and probably to a great extent because of the per diem allowance. . “bh 3 JOLL GLb tN :