48
burdensof Sr®° have reached equilibrium with the
environmental Sr*’. Little or none of the present
body burden of the exposed group can beconsidered residual from their initial exposure, since
little difference has been noted between the body
burdens in exposed and unexposed populations
living on RongelapIsland. The possible relation
of internal absorption of radioiodinesinitially in
the fallout to the recent development of thyroid
nodules has been referred to above. Noothereffects of such exposure have been detected.
OTHER EXAMINATIONS
Ophthalmological examinations showed no
clear-cut evidence of radiation-induced changes
in the eyes. Slit-lamp studies revealed no increase
in incidenceof lens opacities which might beattributed to radiation. Cytogenetic studies of the chromosomesof leukocytes and peripheral blood cultures obtained in 1964 are in progress and will be
reported at a later date. Anthropometric studies
revealed that young adult Rongelap males were
superior in muscular development compared with
many populations. This was not true, however, for
the young adult females. Blood volume and red
cell mass determinationsusing tritiated water and
Cr** revéaled values in the Marshallese which
were considerably lower than found in American
Caucasians. However, there is some indication
that Americanslivingin the Islands for more than
one year mayalso haveslightly lower values. This
finding will be further investigated on future surveys. Protein boundiodine studies during the past
two years confirmedthe previousfindingsoflevels
higher in the Marshallese than generally found
elsewhere. No explanation is apparent. Folic acid
levels were found to be somewhat low in the
Rongelap population and probably reflected low
dietary folic acid. Serum studies for the Ag system
reveal that the Rongelapese comparedwith other
world populations have a high frequency of C.deB.
antiserum reactors and a low frequency of New
York antiserum reactors.
Acknowledgments
The cooperation of many agencies and persons
was necessary to carry out these surveys successnN authors are deeply grateful to many
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individuals, too numerous to name, for valuable
assistance.
Manyofficials of the Atomic Energy Commission, particularly Dr. Charles L. Dunham, Dr.
H.D. Bruner, and manyoftheir staff of the Division of Biology and Medicine, and Mr. W.H.
Brummett, Jr. and Mr. G.P. Steffy of the San
Francisco Operations Office were most helpful in
the coordination of arrangements with various
governmental agencies and in supporting these
surveys in every possible way.
Wearegrateful to the officials of the Department’ of the Interior, particularly to Mrs. Ruth
Van Cleve andtheofficials of the Trust Territory
of the Pacific Islands, including the High Commissioner, Mr. M.W.Goding; the Director of Medical
Services, Dr. J.W. Sampson; the District Admin-
istrator for the Marshall Islands, Mr. Peter
Coleman; the Director of the Marshall Islands
Memorial Hospital, Dr. John Iaman, and members of his staff; and the Representative of the
High Commissioner at Kwajalein, Mr. R. McKay. Mr. Don Davis and his crew of the Trust
Territory Ship Ran Anim and Mr. L. Roberts and
the crew of the Roque were most helpful.
Asin the past, the Department of Defense, particularly the Departmentof the Navy, contributed
most vitally to the mission. The Pacific Missile
Range Facility at Kwajalein was of great assistance in furnishing necessary airlifts and materials
to be used on the survey. Drs. G. Temple, C. Cunnington, and Y.C. Smith at the Kwajalein Hospital were extremely helpful.
Drs. L. Donaldson and E. Held at the University of Washington haveaided in coordination of
their studies with these.
Weare grateful to Dr. K. Tsuhamoto, Director
of the Japanese National Institute of Radiological
Sciences, and to Dr. Dunham for arranging the
visit of the senior author to Japan to observe the
annual examinationsof the irradiated Japanese
fishermen and for having Dr. T. Kumatorivisit
Rongelap for the 10-year survey.
At Brookhaven National Laboratory, contributions were made by manyindividuals in many departments including Medical, Instrumentation
and Health Physics, Photography and Graphic
Arts, the Shipping Section, and others. We are
grateful to the following people for their support
and advice: Dr. Maurice Goldhaber, Director;
Dr. J.B.H. Kuper, Chairman of the Instrumenta-