IN
ww
Tahle 34
Urinary Sr" Levels. in pul, of Marshallese, 1959
Males
Rongelap exposed
Rongelap unexposed
Atlingnae
Utirik
~~
Females
Age 1-15
Age (715
Age I-15
Age >15
24
(2)*
71229
73 °25.1 18)
5.6 22.8 (9
39 (2)
-
5.4 #2.2 (9)
4.2 +23 (6)
15 #09 (5)
L901)
2.5
Ebeye
-
5.3
-
-
(1)
056 £0.37 (4)
-
-
3.6
(h)
(2)
700 70 (3)
*The numbers in parentheses are the numbers of people in the groups.
Table 34
Cs'* Body Burdens, in muC ke, of Marshallese as Measured by Whole-Bodvy Gamma Spectroscopy, 1959
Males
Age $-!5
Rongelap exposed
Roneelap unexposed
Ailinenae
Utirik
12.4462
(9)*
Age > 15
Age 1-15
Age > 15
1425.1 (19
Ti3*2.7 (12)
110+3.4 (16)
119436
1IOO*31
[1.4445
LPR £48 (20)
1404.7 (37)
4641.2 (14)
4541.6 (15)
8.9
(2)
(4)
99+2.1 (15)
(4)
45419 (14)
9B428 (33)
(5)
3641.3 (15)
“The numbers in parentheses are the numbers of people in the groups.
on an average 24-hr urine output of 1660 mi (see
Table 33). No significant difference was found
between the Rongelap exposed and unexposed
groups, although the exposed adult group had a
slightly higher mean value than the unexposed
group. Females tended to have a lower mean Sr”
value than males, but the difference was notstatistically significant. Relatively few children <15
years of age were tested for urinary Sr°’, therefore,
it was not possible to comparetheir levels statistically with those of the adults. The mean Sr"
urinaryvalue for an adult inhabitant of Utirik was
1.8 puC./l, which is about 35% that of the Rongelap group. The contro! group on Ebeye Island (not
contaminated) had still lower values, 0.62 ppC/1.
The lack of significant difference between the
exposed and unexposed groups on Rongelap seems
to indicate that essentially no residual Sr’? from
the initial exposure is detectable tn the exposed
group.
Cesium-137. The Cs'" urinary excretion levels
of the Marshallese people for the period from 50
to 180 days following exposure can be expressed
as a single exponential function with a half-life of
70 davs (see Figure 56). This figure is not in agree-
ment with the value of 140 days obtained by Anderson,’' but a biological half-time of 51 to 59
days was obtained tn a clinical study made over a
4-month period following injection of Cs''Cl,
into two patients. “
The estimates of body burden of Cs'”’ in 1958,
derived indirectly from urinalysis, are presented in
Table 32,
The urinary excretion of Cs'" of 34 gpC/lin
1957 indicates that the Rongelap people were exposed to a continuing low level of Cs'* from
stratospheric fallout during 1956 while residing on
Mayjuro. By contrast, the mean body burden of
Cs'" in 1957 of the Utirik people (who were returned to their atoll in 1954) was 334 mpC, con-
siderably higher than that of the Rongelap people
who were residing on Majuro at that time.”* This
higher burden among the Utirik people in 1957
can be attributed to the higher level of Cs'*’ contamination on Utirik than on Majuroatthat time.
Zinc-65. Zn” urinary levels were not measured
before 1958. With the assumptions that excretion
of Zn" is exponenttal and urtnary excretion is
10% of total excretion (urinary /fecal ratio =‘),
the March !958 urinary excretion level of 175