+9
to that of the phantomywhichwas.ceugteddor J)
min (Figure 324.
.
In future whole-body counting of these peuple;
it will be possible, by counting for longer periods
and using an 4-in,Nat criietat, te"impreve tie .
absolute measurenignt Of
gimp amounts of other
radionuclides that may bepresént.
Since a total of 227 Marshallese persons were
surveyed with the whole-body counter, in addition
. ~ BRRUATS.AND DISCUSSION
All thég@gygat uae above methods were usedtor
estimating the body burdens of gamnma- and betaCONT ragonuctides in the Marshallese people.
Individgal values for all the people examined in
1959 mav be found in Appendix 7 for gamina
spectrograpiine analyses and ie Appendix 4 tor
radiochemical analyses
ta numerous controls, the spectral analyses were
performed with the aid of a 704 IBM computer.
Environmental Estimate
Radiochemical Procedures
the environmental estimate of budy burden. The
Twenty -four-hour urine specimens were col-
lected in plastic bottles and sent to BNL for radiachemical analysis.A modification of the method
ot Farabee’" was used Jor the analysis of Seo" Sr
was precipitated as the alkaline phosphate, ashed
with HINO) and H.O., and dissolved in dilute
HNO. After the solation wag brought up toa
volume of 2800 cc, the alkaline earths were com-
plexed with EDP A, and the pl was adjusted to
9.9. The solution was then passed through an ion
exchange column {Dowes-30 in the Na fori,
and the column was riased-with 300 ce ot a solutlomol Ts citne acid and 0.75" EDTA at a pH of
3.0. Phe combined effluents contained 299% of
the total Ga. The catunin was then rinsed with 6
A HNO: to remove the Se. Carrier Se was added
to the Se" fraction and precipitated with 70%
tuning HNO. ¥etrium-GO was milked and counted
by the method of the ARC Health and Satety
Laboratory."
The supernatant from the alkaline phosphate
precipitation was measured and divided into wo
portions. One portion was scavanged for cestum
with added carner by ineans of a duuble precipitation of the aluminum sulfate and the chloroplagnate |! Phe second portion was analyzed for
K by flame specirophotometry.
Food samples were weighed und drvy-ashed ina
mule furnace at BOUPC. The ash was weighed,
and asmall poruon was counted tor gross beta
acuvity. Phe ash was dissolved in dilute HNO,
and processed by the method deserrbed above tor
Urine analy sis.
All counting was done ina low-level beta aiutcolmadence type of counter, designed and built at
BNL. Samples were mounted on glass liber titer
discs with ovlon ries and discs and Mylar tilm.
Saaiptes were counted agatnst NBS standards
processed and courted under identical gearmets
One method used (the feast quantiGauve) was
environmental estimate of internally-deposited
Sr was made in two ways. In the tirst method,
animals subsisting on diets simular to buman diets
were sacrificed and their tissues were atalvzed
radiochermically. A nmunaber ol rats were collected
on Roneclap Island at 2, 4, and 5 vears after the
1954 accident. It the diet of these rats, prunarily
land plants, was sulficiently saaular to the diet of
homan beings inhabiting this area, the rat analyses might serve as indicators of the hunian internal
radiation contamunation. Ue Sr’ Cla ratios of
Various Ussues of these rats were measured direc t-
ly and compared to the catios of the toad and soil
on Roagelap collected at Uhe sade ime, that is, the
environmental contamination was compared with
the directly measured contamination in aniunal
tissue. Extrapolation of the cuvironmental data
wives the equubtbriuim value winch can be expected, whereas te direct measurement gives the
value at the ime of measurement (and thus the
percent of the equilibrium value for the individual
radionuchdes}.
The Sr" Cia ratios for dilerent plant foods on
Ronyclap vatied greatly. and the diet of the rats
was too uacertam for an “average” diet to be assumed. Vherefore, tor a body burden estimate il
was necessary lo use the Se” Ca values of the soil
resell
Phe “strontium-calctuin Observed ratio” (OR)
of Gomar'> was used to denote the preferenual
utilization of calcium ta the tallowing manner:
OR
Sampts
“me
perce
_osr Ca of sample
set
eee"
os
‘
:
Se Ca of precursor
The Se'" discrimination catia io the «hain fron
soll Oto bone (4) via plants (fj) can be expressed
as lollows:
OR, =(OR, COR, PH (OF(O25; S018.