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4. DOSE
DOE-1982 reported three doses for the Rongelap people who would live
on Rongelap Island for the period 1978-2008, tacitly assuming a constant
diet. To this DoE-1982 added the stipulation that the diet would be
based on “local food only from Rongelap Island” (Note 1).
It should be pointed out, however, that the stipulation of “local
food only” is”incorrect. The doses used by DOE-1982 were estimated by
Robison et al (1982b), who based then on the type B community diet
described by Naidu et al (1980). That diet involves imported foods
brought in on a regular basis by supply ship as well as local foods.
The three doses are as follows:
.(1) The “highest average amount of radiation the people might
receive in any part of the body” was 2.5 rem (over 30 years). I take
this to be Livermore’s “integral dose” in which each year’s delivery is
summed over 30 years (Robison et al, 1982b, Table .17). I will comPare it
to the committed whole-body dose (rem) over:30 years (i.e., the committed
effective dose equivalent for a standard man).
(2)
The corresponding bone marrow average would be 3.3 rem (Robison
et al, 1982b, Table 14). I take this to be the “tissue dose” and it is
approximately equal to the committed dose equivalent.
(3) The highest dose to any one person was set at 0.4 rem, this
being three times the average dose.
For orientation, it may be said that DOE’s whole-body and
bone-marrow doses are for practical purposes confirmed by recalculations
employing the original data and corrected assumptions, and by those
employing subsequent findings on additional field samplings.
: However, the independent assessment by the Brookhaven National
Laboratory, based on whole-body counting for cesium and urinary analysis
for strontium, lowers the whole-body dose significantly. This estimate,
in my opinion, is the definitive one.
Brookhaven’s estimate of the transuranic dose (plutonium, americium)
has-raised the question of the size of its contribution to dose--a matter
which is under discussion--but in any case, apparently not great enough
to prevent a decision from being made. This matter will be discussed.
The question of infant dosage, neglected previously, has been dealt
with specifically (or will be).

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