aa
THYROID LESIONS IN MARSHALLESE EXPOSED TQ FALLOUT
(AS OF SEPT. 1972)8
Marshall Island group
(radiation dose-gamma)
Rongelap (175 rads
eeee
ey
Ey
ey
pee
gamma exposure)
Rongelap (on Ailingnae
Island-69 rads gamma
exposure)
Utirik? (14 rads gamma
Age at
exposure
< 10
200-500
-6 (1/6)
0
-
all
-
23 (2/14)
l
-
< 10
1323
1
-0 (0/55)
0
-
2 (4/124)
1
< 10
> 10
all
-
-0 (0/61)
8 (5/133)
6 (5/194)
0
1
1
< 10
> 10
all
-
.0 (0/31)
-7 (5/106)
6 (5/137)
0
0
0
Rongelap unexposed
Likiep unexposed
all
131, 132, 133, 135
40-80
.5 (1/8)
15
0
2
17
Malignant
lesions
percent“
5
5
5
-6
> 10
(17/19)
(1/8)
(3/26)
(21/53)
Thyroid
surgery
500-1400
335-500
335
-
> 10
2 pased on number living.
Thyroid
lesions
percent
< 10
11-20
> 20
all
exposure)
lnose from
Estimated
thyroid
dose-rads
224
8 (4/69)
l
5.3 (1/19
7.7 (2/26
5.7 (3/53
-
-
1.4 (1/69
0.8 (1/12
-
I plus gamma dose
In parentheses number of cases/total number in group.
Jone child 10-17 years of age at exposure received estimated thyroid doses between
132 and 200 rads.
4p ifteen children 10-17 years of age at exposure in this group received estimated
thyroid doses between 22 and 40 rads.
5
The more energetic shorter-lived isotopes of iodine contributed less to the total
thyroid dose in the Utirik people due to later fallout. One might surmise therefore
that the biolagleal effectivenesa of the thyraid dena per rad would be lesa in chat
group,
6
In 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 a,
235