visual difficulties.
I am not an ophthalmologist, and
brought no instruments to visualize the lenses of these's
people's eyes.
However, I learned that on one island
about fifty per cent of the population is losing its
vision.
This does not come to me from one informant, but
comes to me from three or four informants.
One informant
actually said that most of the adults were losing their
vision.
Sometimes it was occurring in children.
This
again does not seem to be concomitant with the blast or
follow shortly on it.
One would expect the cataract
changes sooner if it was due to looking directly at the
blasts,
and I would not expect it in individuals unborn
at the time of the blasts.
This appears’ to be perhaps
one of the most disabling disabilities on the island of
Utrik, and if not for the apparent willingness of the
island to take care of its own there would be many people
on this island suffering by reason of their dimming sight.
In a colder,
crueler society these people would not be
abdle to survive.
The frequency of eye problems is complicated by also
the notable frequency of diabetes.
Diabetes is an acequate
cause of cataracts, and older diabetics may develope
Cataratcts.
However I asked very carefully of those
patients whom I saw with visual difficulties, -- I essume
they had had cataracts some had been operated on and had
cataract removal -- whether they were diabetic and I
understand that while several were, just as many were
not, and the diabetic explanation for all of the cataracts and loss of vision does not seem credible.
Again
this seems to be a radiation effect.
-
As another radiation effect there was a period of
time when there were an unusual number of stillbirths or
the birth of monstrosities.
I have heard this called the
year of the animal, although I understand
be offensive to those women who bore such
heard the particular phrase only from men
used. ~It was the time when children were
completely formed bodies,
legs, ox deformed heads.
this phrése to
offspring and I
and not commonly
born with in-
incompletely formed arms or
This occurred late, and not in
the nine months after a near-by explosion when one would
expect radiation effects.
Moreover it occurred in islands
distant enough so that direct radiation effects governed