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UNITED STATES
ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C.
20545
October 2, 1964
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MEMORANDUM FOR CHAIRMAN SEABORG
THROUG|
GENERAL MANAGER
SUBJECT:
5 KG
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THYROID DISEASE IN RONGELAP ISLANDERS
During the February 1964 annual medical survey of the Marshallese
Islanders exposed to fallout from the March 1, 1954, shot over
Bikini, three young teenagers, 13~14 years old, were found to nave
nodules in their thyroid glands,
The medical team felt that two of
them should have immediate thyroidectomies, and these operations were
successfully carried out at the Naval Hospital on Guam with the full
cooperation of the Trust Territory people and the medical services
of the Department of Defense,
The pathological diagnoses were papillary adenocarcinoma, a malignant
tumor of the thyroid,
The prognosis, of course, is uncertain, but
the surgeons are reported to have felt that they may have removed all
the neoplastic
tissue,
While
this
information has not been transmitted
formally, it is regarded as reliable,
It is planned that a ten year
summary of the health status of the exposed Marshallese, including
these recent developments, will be prepared for prompt publication in
a prominent journal such as the Journal of the American Medical
Association,
Preparations are now going ahead to have the third child with a
small nodule operated on as soon as possible, The estimated doses
to these thyroids are some 100 to 175 rads external gamma plus 100 to
150 rads from absorbed radioiodine,
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STATUS VER
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