years old in 1954.
By September 1972 thyroid lesions had been demonstrated in 23
of 67 exposed Rongelap inhabitants, 4 of 124 exposed Utirik inhabitants and 10
.
,
of 331 unexposed controls.
n
Seventeen of 19 high level, exposed Rongelap childred?
Aivel r
who were less than 10 years of age at the time of the detonation, Socedthyroid
PoeetAas ay
lesions.
Four malignant thyroid tumors
ousroped,Tin Rongelapese and 1 ina
Utirikese,. “Enclosure 1 presents additional details regarding the thyroid lesions.
A case of acute leukemia was detected in September 1972 in a 19 year old,
high level, exposed Rongelap boy who was one year of age at the time of the
detonation.
The patient received excellent treatment but nevertheless expired
at the Clinical Center of
the National Institutes of Health in November 1972.
In contrast to the thyroid lesions for which a causal relationship Betweaca ingested
a
odin
Behe fee
cone
|
-
radioactive isotopes of iodine sand—thetchyreid—tacions is considered definite,
uncertainty exists with respect to the relationship between the fallout and the
one case of leukemia.
The late appearance of the leukemia speaks against the .
relationship while the small size of the exposed Rongelap population and the
early evidence of severe hematopoietic damage after the detonation may be cited
as evidence for it.
Neither argument is definitive.
The scientific and lay world
are likely to regard the fallout and leukemia case as presumptively related.
.
3,8, . compensation was provided to the people of Rongelap in accordance with
U.S. Public Law no. 88-485, passed on August 22, 1964.
The law was an indirect
outgrowth of a legal complaint filed prior to 1960 that sought $8,500,C00 compensation for property damage, radiation sickness, burns, physical and mental agony,
loss of consortium, and medical expenses (past, present, future and undetermined)
‘ by Virtue of negligence on the part of the United States in the Bravo detonation.
The case never came to Court because of a prior Court ruling that the Trust
Territory constituted a foreign country and that jurisdiction in a U. S. Federal
Court was; therefore, lacking.
After a plea on behalf of the Marshallese was
presented to the U. N. Trusteeship Council in 1960, -the Department of State
encouraged the introduction of legislation to provide compensation
to the people
of Rongelap.
(hvcterwene |
P.L. No. 88-485 was titled "An act for the settlement of claims of certain
A
residents of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands."
The law stated that the
Congress “hereby assumes compassionate responsibility to compensate inhabitants
a
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