84 N-11 The major uncertainty what - no one knows precisely ~. in estimating the dose 1s the Two efforts have been it is. diet made to delineate it. The first by Naidu et al (1980) (BNL 51313) was based on living experiences over the years on various Northern Marshallese Atolls and, clearly demonstrated the effects of living Rongelap fell into their B class, one in which patterns orI it. there was a low availability of local foods (excepting fish), (SUPPIY boat overpopulation, and a good supply of imported foods say, every three weeks). Naidu et al reported comes in regularly, but-emphasized that they did not the quantities of food prepared, used In any event, Robison and DoE-1982 know how much was eaten. this estimate as the maximum level of consumption for a population. The lfLSC diet was elaborated by H. Pritchard Services Corporation in 1979 when he visited Atoll (Robison et people for 2.5 weeks on Utirik of Legal the the al, Hicronesian Enewetak 1982a, UCRL-83835). His diets assumed that the supply ship came regularly, making it possible for the people to eat relatively large amounts of canned goods, etc.), or that the imported foods (rice, flour, sugar, ship did not come at all. Robison selected the adult female subgroup of the population for calculation because its consumption was greatest. DOE-1982 took this calculation for the minimal level of contaminated-food consumption. it has been found that cesium-137 accounts For the HLSC diet for about 95% of the whole-body dose and 85% of the bone marrow Strontium-90 accounts for 5% and 158, respectively, and the dose. transuranics for less than 1% during the first 70 years. When the supply ship is on schedule, coconut accounts for 80% or so of the radionuclide intake. used the In summary, then, DOE-1982 diet for its dose calculations. Uhen it it used both the type B community (high) The diets are given in Table N-n #l. Naidu type B community wished to indicate a range, and the ?!LSC diet (low). An additional fact about the preparation of fish is worth noting. The skin and bones of fish may have 50-100 times the of the meat. Also, the contents of strontium-90 specific activity ●ay be high. the intestinal tract What is the effect of all this on dosage? First, Noshkin et al (1981) found the strontium-90 specific activities of all tissues to be below 1 pCi/g. Robison et al (personal communication, 1988), have confirmed this for mullet caught off the reef of Bikini Island (contamination levels 5-10 times those at Rongelap Island). Roast mullet and stewed mullet were tested. For stew, neither the meat, nor broth, nor skin and bones exceeded .01 pCi per gram (Table N 11.~ 2). The cooking was done by natives in the customary way (the intestines were discarded).