23
slightly shorter and weighedslightly less than unexposed children of the sameage.

In utero effects, pregnancy, andfertility. Pregnancies
are believed to have been in the normalrangefor
the Marshallese with regard to number, course,

and termination. No abnormalities were observed
in the babiesirradiated in utero.
Psychic effects. Little or no effect on the psyche
related to their radiation exposure or displacement has been observed in the Rongelap people.
Hematological effects. Lymphocytes andplatelets
(mean population counts) continue to lag in complete recovery when compared with the unexposed group. There was also a downward trend of
leukocytes compared with examinationsa year

ago. However, the unexposed comparison popula-

tion had similarly lower levels compared with
previous comparison groups. Hematocrits were
low by our standards in exposed as well as unexposed people. The low values are believed to be
related to widespread parasitism and chronicin-

fections (skin and caries). ‘These diseases mayalso

be related to the high total serum proteins (average of about8.0 g) with high gammaglobulinfraction noted in most of the Marshallese.

unexposed Marshallese. From these observations
it would appearthat someofthe higher estimates
of radiation induced aging in the humanbeingare
too high.
Degenerative diseases. No increase in degenerative
diseases was noted in the irradiated people compared with the unexposed populations.
Carcinogenesis and leukemia. No cancerorleukemia was seen. Examination of blood smearsfailed
to reveal any consistent decrease of alkaline phosphatase activity of neutrophils or increase in basophils indicative of early leukemia.
Ophthalmological effects. No loss of visual acuity
or appearanceof opacities of the lens that could
be related to radiation effects was seen.
Genetic effects. Genetic studies have not been

carried out. However, no anomalies have been

noted in the 13 babies born ofirradiated parents
since exposure.
Beta Lesions

Gross and microscopic studies of residual skin
lesions revealed no premalignant or malignant

changes.

internal Radiation

Beta Lesions

Fifteen residual beta lesions showed varying de-

grees of mild atrophy, scarring, and pigment aberration. No chronic radiation dermatitis was
noted,
A twofold greater incidence of pingueculae and

pterygia was noted in the e~posed group. It is not
known whether radiation exposure to the eyes

might have enhanced the developmentof such
abnormalities.
Internal Radiation

No acute or subacute effects have occurred from

internal deposition of fallout isotopes because of
the low body burdensof radionuclides absorbed.
LATE EFFECTS
Penetrating Radiation

Premature aging and shortening of life span. One
death (at the time of this survey) or 1.5% incidence comparesfavorably with 5 deaths or 3.0%
mortality in the Utirik people (who received
about 14 r). In general the exposed people did not
appearolder or seem to have agedfaster than the

Radiochemicalanalyses of urine samples and
whole-body gammaspectroscopy for Cs'*’ revealed levels of this isotope several times higher
than found in Americans, but far below accepted
tolerance levels. Because of subsequent world-wide
fallout, determination ofthe residue of the original
exposure wasdifficult to differentiate from later
absorption. Sr®° levels as of a year ago were far
below tolerance levels. The body burden ofisotopes had dwindled rapidly over the three years
since exposure andis not considered to present
any long-term hazard.
The Rongelap people were moved backto their
homeisland in June 1957. The levels of contamination on the island are reduced sufficiently
to allow safe habitation.
FUTURE PLANS

Future examinations of the Marshallese people
will include studies of the subsiding acute and subacute effects; long-term effects of radiation on the
humanbeing; and valuable ecological radiation
studies of the people related to the soil-food-hu-

Select target paragraph3