phase
that
included
terrestrial
and marine
sampling;
this phase had full
logistics support, but was limited by the time required at each
complete the external gamma aerial survey.
limited
sampling of the terrestrial
atoll
to
The purposes of the associated
and marine
environments
were
to
(1) supplement and provide comparative data for the aerial survey, (2) provide
a preliminary evaluation of the radionuclide concentration in vegetation,
soil, water,
and marine foods to estimate doses from these pathways, and
(3) supply sufficient information to identify islands or atolls that might
require additional sampling at a later date for dose assessment purposes.
The results of the NMIRS have been published
(Robison
et
al.,
198la,
1981b,
1982a;
Mount, 1983; Tipton and Meibaum, 1981).
in
a series
Noshkin et al.,
of reports
1981; Jennings and
However, the results for Bikini Atol]
were not published as part of this series.
The Bikini Atoll results are
published separately because, unlike the other 11 atolls or islands, Bikini
Atoll was the site of 23 nuclear tests and because resettlement options at the
Atoll needed to be defined.
Thus, the results of the radiological survey of
Bikini and Eneu Islands, the two historical residence islands at Bikini Atoll
(see Fig. 2), were published separately (Robison et al.,
1982b) prior to the
publication of the NMIRS results, and both islands became the focus of a
continuing research and monitoring program.
This report is designed as a
‘resource document for the eventual cleanup of Bikini Island; it contains
details on the sampling sites and number of samples collected at the islands
of Bikini Atoll during the 1978 survey and the results of the radiological
analyses.
We have also included results of the continuing sampling program
for Bikini and Eneu Islands through May 1985 for soils, through March 1987 for
vegetation, and through May 1988 for rainfall.
.
The radiological doses estimated from these data for a population: living
on Bikini or Eneu Islands can be found in Robison et al.
Nearty 95% of the
estimated effective dose and bone-marrow dose at the atoll results from !3/Cs;
about 70 to 80% of the total dose from '37Cs arises from ingestion of '37Cs in
terrestrial
foods, with the remainder coming from external gamma exposure.
Because of the importance of !37Cs in the overall estimated dose, and, in
particular,
in the food chain,
a great deal of emphasis
is- placed
on
measurements of !3/cs in vegetation and soil around the Atoll. We have
developed a data base for 90Sr, 239+240py, and 24lAm as well, but it is not as
extensive as that for '3/Cs because these radionuclides account for a much
2000310