Pub. L. 95-134, tit. I, sec. 104

Sec. 104. (a) In addition to appropriations authorized to compensate inhabitants of Rongelap Atoll and Utirik Atoll in the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands for radiation exposure sustained by them as a result of a thermonuclear detonation at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands on March 1, 1954, pursuant to the Act of August 22, 1964 (78 Stat. 598), effective October 1, 1977, there are authorized to be appropriated such amounts as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this section and the Secretary of the Interior (hereafter in this section referred to as the “Secretary”) is authorized and directed to make the payments as hereafter provided in this paragraph to individuals, or to their heirs or legatees, as the case may be, who were on March 1, 1954, residents on Rongelap Atoll or Utirik Atoll in the Marshall Islands: (1) The Secretary shall pay $25,000 to each such individual from whom the thyroid gland or a neurofibroma in the neck was surgically removed, or who has developed hypothyroidism, or who develops a radiation-related malignancy, such as leukemia. (2) The Secretary shall pay $1,000 to each individual who, on such date, was a resident on Utirik Atoll. 91 STAT. 1160 (3) Where circumstances warrant, as he shall determine, the Secretary shall pay an amount not in excess of $25,000 as he determines to be an appropriate compassionate compensation to each such individual who has suffered any physical injury or harm from a radiation-related cause but who is not an individual described in paragraph (1). (4) In addition to the payments provided in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of this subsection, the Secretary shall provide by appropriate means adequate medical care and treatment for any person who has a continuing need for the care and treatment of any radiation injury or illness directly related to the thermonuclear detonation referred to in paragraph (a) of this section. The costs of such medical care and treatment shall be assumed by the Administrator of the Energy Research and Development Administration. (5) Not later than December 31, 1980, the Secretary shall report to the appropriate committees of the United States Congress for their consideration what, if any, additional compassionate compensation may be justified for those individuals continuing to suffer from injuries or illnesses directly related to radiation resulting from the thermonuclear detonation referred to in paragraph (a) of this section. In the case of the demise of any individual entitled to receive payment under this section who expires before receiving such payment, the Secretary shall pay the amount which that individual would have been entitled to receive under this section to the heirs or legatees of such individual, in accordance with an appropriate method of distribution per stirpes, and not per capita. Where the demise of any individual eligible for payment under paragraph (1) or (3) supra is directly related to the thermonuclear detonation referred to in paragraph (a) of this section, the Secretary may make an additional compassionate payment not to exceed $100,000 to the heirs or legatees of such individual. In determining the amount of such payment the Secretary shall consider, but is not limited to, the following: any payments which the deceased has received or would have been eligible to receive under this section, and loss of support, services, or contributions to the heirs or legatees. (b) For the use of each of the island communities of Rongelap, Utirik, and Bikini Atolls there is authorized to be appropriated $100,000. Such funds are to be paid by the Secretary, in conjunction with guidelines to be established by the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, for such community purposes as the municipal councils of such island communities may direct. (c) A payment made under the provisions of this section shall be in full settlement and discharge of all claims against the United States arising out of the thermonuclear detonation on March 1, 1954. (d) The decisions of the Secretary in allowing or denying any claim for payment under this section shall be final and conclusive on all questions of law and fact and not subject to review by any other official of the United States, or by any court by mandamus or otherwise. (e) The Secretary is authorized to make such rules and regulations as he determines necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.