had cared for the patient. The parents claimed that the boy had developed leukemia as a result of eating radioactive snow. Monitoring records showed no "hot spots" or high levels of radiation detected in the area during the period in question. Vital statistics for Nevada and Utah were also negative for any unusual number of cases of leukemia that year, or the preceding year. The exact type of leukemia was not determined. The Reno physicians were of the opinion that this was not radiation induced. The conclusion of this investigation was that one could not determine whether or not a specific case was radiation induced or not, but based upon the evidence, this did not appear to be radiation-induced leukemia, This latter statement was made on a television broadcast, and the father of the boy threatened to shoot the investigator if he ever again set foot on his property. One claim on which reimbursement was actually made occurred in an elderly gentleman about 80 miles from the test site. This might be considered a "freak" blast injury. At the time of detonation of the nuclear device, the gentleman was just getting dressed in his home. Apparently, through a channeling mechanism in the atmosphere, the.blast from the detonation was channeled through the atmosphere and its effect came dow at this man's home, striking the large picture window and causing a startle reaction in the man causing him to twist his neck and develop a spasm in the muscles of the neck. This man was sent to a physician in Salt Lake City, and his expenses were paid. Cases claiming flash blindness or retinal injury were sent to an ophthalmologist for evaluation, again at government expense. Investigation of time and location of these incidents indicated a possibility of the patient having seen the fireball, but the ophthalmologist found no injury. The case of "green and red sweat" was sent to a dermatologist. The patient had claimed to have driven through a fallout cloud and then developed the red and green sweat. This patient was sent to a dermatologist, at government expense, and it was determined that the coloration of the sweat was due to a type of bacteria producing the color. He was treated for this and had no further trouble. Several dermatological cases were investigated and a Positive diagnosis made. This diagnosis was not related to radiation. The basic concept on which MLON worked was positive: "Do not simply say, this is not radiation injury; say, this is not radiation injury because it is and make a positive diagnosis." At all times, we sought the best medical consultation when there were any questions concerning the diagnosis. During 1957, we performed one autopsy. A man had died near Ely, Nevada, and the local community, and there was even some question by the local physician, started circulating the rumor that the man had died of acute radiation injury. Fortunately, we had some pathologists available at the Test Site who were from Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This team of pathologists was flow to Ely and performed the autopsy. They found no evidence of radiation injury. Nineteen fifty-seven also saw the start of biological sampling. Besides the autopsy, urine specimens were obtained from a group of people in the off-site area and these specimens were analyzed at Walter Reed for radioactivity. 20 During the fall of 1957, near the end of Operation PLUMBBOB, the U.S. Public Health Service collected 24-hour urine samples from some of the persons living in the off-site area, and from some of the persons engaged in the off-site activities in the same area. A total of 28 persons was sampled. The areas where samples were obtained were Lincoln Mine, Alamo, and Mercury, all in Nevada. Because radioactivity was so low in the individual samples, a series of five pools was made of the samples. Samples were pooled in the following groups: (1) Mercury--four males; (2) Alamo residents--four males and one female; (3) Alamo nonresidents--two males, one female; (4) Lincoln Mine residents--two males, three females; and (5) Lincoln Mine nonresidents~--two males. The samples from each pool were also pooled for one large composite sample. These specimens were analyzed for the Public Health Service by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. The samples were specifically analyzed for strontium-90 (actually yr?9, daughter of $r?9), cesium-137, and iodine-131. The average level of strontium-90 in a 24-hour urine sample was about 1.0 dpm (disintegrations per minute), which was considerably below the maximum sensitivity of the analytical method used. The five pooled samples showed no 90 significant activity above background which could be identified as the Yr’", daughter of Sr’". Since the pooled samples represented four to ten man-days of urine, the mean excretion levels for individuals would be less than 2.5 and 1.0 dpm per man-day, respectively. We asaumed an excretion rate of 0.1 percent of body burden per day for sr20, thus the 2.5 dpm per day level suggested a total body burden of no more than 1.1 x 1073 microcuries. This was several times lower than values for fetuses in the Chicago area, and in view of the proximity of these people to the NTS was quite surprising. Low annual rainfall and ingesting foodstuffs grown elsewhere appeared to the investigators to be the overriding mechanisms responsible, despite the close proximity of Alamo and Lincoln Mine residents, for the lower levels. The mean were 51, 1,500 ml per day, excretion levels of cesium-137 for Mercury, Alamo, and Lincoln Mine 118, and 187 dpm per liter. Assuming a 24-hour urine volume of per day, and an excretion rate of 0.46 percent of total cesium burden estimated cesium body burdens were: Mercury: Alamo: Lincoln Mine: 7.5 x 1073 microcuries 1.74 x 10-2 microcuries 2.77 x 10-? microcuries It 1s of note that the highest body burden recorded in this group was from a nonresident at Mercury who had 0.187 percent of the maximum permissible (NBS Handbook 68 Industrial standards) body burden. This person was counted in a whole-body counter 14 months later (September, 1958) and at that time his body burden of cesium was within the so-called "normal limits" of the average U.S. population. The individual excretion levels for cesium-137 varied by a factor of about 10 for each locale, yet the mean body burden at Mercury was exceptionally close to the mean level of 6 x 107? microcuries for U.S. citizens measured during 1956-57. Although at Lincoln Mine the mean was slightly higher, it was only 21