Cliff Sloan
June 24, 1980
Page Two
already spent in exile by the Injebi people.
It is my belief
that prudence and caution mst take precedence over expedient
and often-catastrophic political considerations. In the case of
the mjebi resettlement, if history should prove that we were too
cautious and that we acted too prudently, I assure you that it
would be a first in the Marshall Islands.
I know that I personally
would rather be in the position-esay ten or twenty years hence-of having to explain why there was a six-month delay in the Injebi
retum, rather than have to explein why one more previously
"unexposed" group of Marshallese became an "exposed" group because
of a hasty decision made by some “concerned" people who thought
that things were "alright" on Mijebi.
I think the following points will substantiate my present
concem over the Injebi resettlement and my request for truly
independent radiation experts in the Marshall Islands.
We can
only stand to gain from having an alternate point of view in
relation to the radiological data and the recommendations therein,
and I am convinced that the Injebi people can only benefit fron
our acting with caution and prudence?
1) The entire history of the “nuclear age" has been beset with the
constant downward revision of what constitutes a "safe" level of
radiation for humans.
It was previously believed that a dose of
50 rem was “safe” for humans; the dose was then decreased by a
factor of ten to 5 rem; end the current BEIR (Biological Effects
of Ionizing Radiation) Committee of the National Academy of Sciences~-
which was itself divided over the question of “safe" radiation levels,
and whose recommendations are far from being universally accepted
by well-respected radiation experts--recommends a dose of 0.5 rem
in its 1979 updated Report.
What this adds up to is a history of
continuing uncertainty concerning the assessment of “safe* levels
of radiation for humans, and this ongoing debate 1s exemplified by
Drs. Gofman and Rall in the enclosed symposium transcript of the
recent American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
symposium I was asked to chair.
2)
Dr. Robert A. Conard, who was the former head of the Brookhaven
National Laboratory~Marshall Islands Program, expressed great surprise
over the late-occurring thyroid effects in the exposed Marshallese
povulations.
He claimed that these late effects were not anticipated
before 1963, and it is fair to say that we still do not know what is
Foing to havpen in the future in this population.
Again, this is a
ih