the Committee position that whether or not "damage" can be proven is
irrelevant, since it is a fact that exposure occurred, and that since
exposure to radiation is harmful, then it is highly probable that
damage did indeed occur,
Therefore the assumption of the Committee is
that exposure itself--which is well documented--is basis, or grounds
ee
ee
Ce eeeee
enough
for compensation and that damage as such need not _—_
necessarily
ee
en
be proven,
Psychological Effects of the 1954 Incident.
During the annual examination by Dr. Conard in March 1973, the Committee
passed out questionnaires to the Rongelapese and Utirikese living on
Majuro, Ebeye, Rongelap and Utirik,
These questionnaires and the results
they yielded should not be assumed to be scientifically accurate, or
statistically significant.
The results are valuable, however, for
"they confirm certain general impressions received by the Committee from
the Rongelapese and Utirikese.
Of 35 exposed Rongelapese people who
filled out questionnaires, 23 said they did not understand what had
happened and 26 said that no one explained the incident to them,
When
asked if they felt sick after returning to their island 30 people
responded in the affirmative.
Eleven women gave a positive reply to the question "Did you ever have
a baby or babies born dead or born with something wrong after the bomb,"
and 19 women said they knew of other women who had such problems.
The
question was asked if they knew of anyone that they thought had died
from the bomb and 24 responded "'yes'', listing the following people:
Lekoj, Jenwor Anjain, Hirosi Kelminli, Lekoj Hirosi, Jerlan, Jekkein,
-29-
ere
‘
S.
"3
UTAgee
,
BS,
wy x 4
WE
Meg
fe.
woe
rh