THYROID LESIONS
IN MARSHALLESE EXPOSED
(AS OF SEPT. 1972)®
TO FALLOUT
Marshall Island group
Age at
Estimated
thyroid
Thyroid
lesions
Thyroid
Malignant
lesions
(vadiation dose-pamma)
exposure
dose -rads
percent
surpery
percent
Rongelap (175 rads
gamma exposure)
Rongelap (on Ailingnae
Island-69 rads gamma
exposure)
Utirik? (14 rads gamma
< 10
11-20
> 20
all
500-1400
335-500
335
-
< 10
200-500
1323
-
12.5 (1/8)
14.3 (2/14)
< 10
40-80
0.0 (0/55)
0
~
5.8 (4/69)
3.2 (4/124)
s 10
all
22
89,5
12.516.5
39.6
(17/19)
(1/8)
(3/26)
(21/53)
16.6 (1/6)
15
0
2
17
0
1
L.
-
-
-
exposure)
+ 10
all
Rongelap unexposed
< 10
> 10
all
-
0.0 (0/61)
3.8 (5/133)
2.6 (5/194)
0
1
l
-
Likiep unexposed
< 10
> 10
-
0.0 (0/3i)
4.7 (5/106)
0
0
-
all
lnose from
2
131, 132, 133, 135 I
Based on number living.
-
3.6 (5/137)
L
l
5.3 (1/19)
7.7 (2/26)
5.7 (3/53)
_ 0
1.4 (1/69)
0.8 (1/124)
-
plus gamma dose
,
In parentheses number of cases/total number in group.
Fone child 10-17 years of age at exposure received estimated thyroid doses between
132 and 200 rads.
+Pifteen children 10-17 years of age at exposure in this group received estimated
thyroid doses between 22 and 40 rads.
>the more energetic shorter-lived isotopes of todine contributed less to the total
thyroid dose in the Utirik people due to later fallout. One might surmise therefore
that the blologleal effectLvenesa of the thyredd dona per vad would he leva tn thae
group.
Orn addition to thyroid
lesions,
one case of acute myelogenous
leukemia was discovered
in a 19-year-old Rongelap boy who had received 175 rad gamma radiation at 1 year of age.
235
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