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BROOKHAVEN NATIONAL LABORATORY
AUI
ASSOCIATED UNIVERSITIES, INC... UPTON. L.1.. N.Y. 11973
TeverHone: (516) 345- 3977
MEDICAL DEPARTMENT
Novembe,
21,
-s1975 US DOE ARCHIVES
3826 US ATOMIC ENEKGY
COMMISSION
Dr. James L. Liverman
Assistant Administrator for Environmenta CollectionDBmEP Files
Safety
Energy Research and Development Administ dtton
Washington, D.C. 20545
Wolder
Dear Jim:
G Ose
Dob & 7923
EW tweto/
AtO67. NOUFrps
The purpose of this letter is to acquaint you with a change in our
conclusion regarding radiation etiology of thyroid cancer in the Marshallese population of Utirik who had been exposed to low doses of radiation
from fallout.
In 1969 one of the Utirik women had a thyroid tumor removed which was malignant. It was believed that this one case could
well have been a natural occurrence and since no nodules had been detect~
ed in the Utirik children and only a normal incidence of benign nodules
had developed in the adults I had advised the Congress of Micronesia, in
response to questfons submitted, that it was unlikely that any of the
thyroid abnormalities noted in the Utirik population (158 people) were
related to radiation exposure. As you know the subject of additional
compensation for the exposed Marshallese is about to come up before our
Congress.
The Department of Interior is handling this matter. Of course
the Congress of Micronesia is pushing for passage of such a bill and the
questions asked me concerning various aspects of our medical findings
were related
to this.
Last month another thyroid tumor was removed from a 25 year old
female exposed on Utirik at 4 years of age, the first tumor to be detected in the younger age group of that population. The diagnosis on this
tumor has been controversial among nine outstanding thyroid pathologists
three favoring a diagnosis of cancer, two atypical benign adenoma and
four areundecided but willing to call it a premalignant lesion or cancerin-situ. We have decided to call it -cancer-in-situ and for statistical
purposes classify it as cancer.
In order to obtain advice on chances that these two cancers in the
Utirik group were related to their radiation exposure I visited Drs.
Brian MacMahon and George B. Hutchison, at the School of Public Health
at Harvard Medical School for review of the Marshallese data.
Both of
these men are experts in population statistics.
They concluded that
the "occurrence of 2 cases by chance is extremely unlikely".
of their conclusions
.
Lace tebe
.
Clk.
toa
eee kee chew
_
/-
A summary
is attached,
Cold.
INFORMATION OPERATOR (516! 345 2123
435°759
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