. .: -5.1 i Exposure of the Marshallese The Marshallese to Fallout on Ailinginae*, Rongelap and Utirik, being unaware of the nature of fallout, did nothing to protect themselves or wash off the particulztes, !, except as they changed to swim or use the lagoon. and varied from a dust to small flakes. The fallout was gritty, whitish Indeed the oil used on their hair and their clothing helped retain the fallout and the records note the difficulties encountered in decontaminating the skin and hair (1,2). Itching and burning sensations of the skin and eyelids were the first signs of the skin lesions that were to follow. Some of the people lost their hair in patchy patterns beginning about the third week after exposure. ~ring the first few days some experienced transient nzusea, vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite and tiredness. As indicated on Table I, the people on Rongelap and Ailinginae were evacuated after the detonation and transported by sea and air to Kwajalein Atoll where firstclass hospital available. J i facilities, medical specialists and clinical laboratories Apparently were the Marshallese had not been exposed to identical amounts of fallout for they exhibited a wide range of intensity of the clinical signs relative to that expected from a radiation exposure of 175 Roentgens. however, the characteristic patterns In genera~,