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LEUKOCYTES AND NEUTROPHILS x 10°
grt
14
—
TIME AFTER FALLOUT
TIME AFTER EXPOSURE
Figure 41. Percent difference in blood counts of exposed
and unexposed Rongelap peopie over 15-year period
Figure 38. Mean neutrophil and white counts of Rongelap people from the time of exposure through 15 years
post exposure. Stars represent mean values of comparison
population.
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DAYS
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TIME AFTER EXPOSURE
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NEUTROPHILS « 1073 LYMPHOCYTES x 107)
10
20
30
PLATELETS x :07*
Figure 42. Cumulative percent distribution curves
for blood elements of Rongelap people in 1969.
Figure 39. Mean lymphocyte counts of Rongelap people
from time of exposure through 15 years post exposure.
Stars represent mean values of comparison population.
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DAYS
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5 67 69 10 1) 12 13:14 15
YEARS
TIME AFTER EXPOSURE
Figure 40. Meanplatelet counts of Rongelap people from
time of exposure through [5 years post exposure. Stars
represent mean counts of unexposed comparison populations.
level. Neutrophil levels continued to showa slight
depression in the exposed group, except that in
1969 the smaller Ailingnae group showeda slight
increase. Platelets continued to have the most depressed levels of the peripheral blood elements in
the higher exposure group. Percentage differences
Generally higher counts were noted in the population of Utirik, which had received a very low
dose of radiation, butit is dificult to compare the
bloed counts in the Utirik population with those
in the Rongelap unexposed groups because of differences in environment and possibly in ethnic
background.
Morphological study of blood cells revealed
the continued presence of atypical lymphocytes,
particularly in the exposed population. Thesecells
are similarin size to large lymphocytes orslightly
larger, the cytoplasm is more basophilic, and the
nucleusis more lightly stained with no indentation
of the nucleus. Atypical forms were present in
27% of the exposed Rongelap group, 30% of the
children of exposed parents, 12% of the unexposed
population, and 10% of the Uurik population.
The higher incidence in the exposed Rongelap
group could be correlated with radiation exposure,
but the high level in the children of the exposed
>
PLATELETS « 10 *
495
between the exposed groups and the comparison
population are shownin Table 20 and Figure 41.