BNL medical program in the Marshall Islands

["Franta, Jaroslav" <frantaj@aecl.ca>]

In his "focus" article in the August 1999 issue of Pacific Islands Monthly
(PIM), reporter Giff Johnson claims that Brookhaven National Laboratory
(BNL) operated a medical program on Rongelap and Utirik in the Marshall
Islands "without any outside supervision or peer review," and in his
December 1999 PIM "cover story" he again claims that BNL operated "without
any kind of peer review or oversight" (the claim is also repeated in the
web-version of the article, at URL
http://www.pim.com.fj/99_12/december.html#Anchor - 11111  ).
The documented record says otherwise.
For example, the 1970 - 1974 Rongelap team included, besides 15 medical
professionals and technical specialists from BNL, another 22 medical
professionals and technical specialists from a variety of other
organizations, including four from US universities in Austin-Texas,
Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
A great many reports were published by various participating authors over
the years in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Health Physics.
More importantly, there was also a team of medical and political observers
totaling 14 people. The Congress of Micronesia appointed four foreign
medical observers to accompany the US team, including three from Japan (one
from the Hiroshima University School of Medicine, one from the National
Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba-shi, and one doctor from Tokyo),
and also one medical professional from England (University College Hospital
Medical School, London). Six observers from the Congress of Micronesia also
participated.
The report of the foreign observers to the Congress of Micronesia was MOST
FAVORABLE, and was also included in the publication, "A report on the people
of Rongelap and Utirik relative to medical aspects of the March 1, 1954
incident: Injury, examinations and treatment; Presented by the Special Joint
Committee Concerning Rongelap and Utirik Atolls (Public Law No. 4C-33) at
Fifth Congress of Micronesia, First Regular Session, Feb. 1973."

> Jaro
> frantaj@aecl.ca
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
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