11 Table 2 Ophthalmological Findings (% incidence) Exposed Pterygium Pinguecula 30.5 24.4 Corneal] pigment 6.1 Corneal scars 9.8 Arcussenilis Dacryocystitis Argyli-Robertson pupil 4.8 8.6 12.5 3.6 0.0 1.2 7.3 3.6 1.0 1.0 0.0 1.0 3.8 1.2 12.1 6.1 8.5 10.7 4.8 2.4 1.2 3.6 15.9 0.0 0.0 2.9 0.0 9.6 19 0.0 2.4 1.0 14.4 1.2 Keratitic precipitates Cataracts Aphakia Vitreous opacities Retinal arteriosclerosis Choroidalscars Macular degeneration Driisen Congenital anomalies Macrocornea 16.3 15.3 29.2 1.2 Phthisis bulbi Nystagmus Pannus Strabismus Molluscum contageosum Unexposed 0.0 0.0 slit-lamp observations revealed no opacities of the lens in the exposed people like those seen in the irradiated Japanese.'*’* Also, no differences between the exposed and the unexposed groups were noted in visual acuity or accommodation.” A high incidence of such conditions as pinguecula _ and pterygium has been noted in the exposed group. This finding may havenosignificance, but it is not known whether the exposure of the eyes to beta irradiation in 1954 from fallout could have played an etiologicalrole. It is of interest that no cases of glaucoma were noted. The incidence of myopia was very low, as was the incidence of retina! arteriosclerosis, squint, and deficiency in color vision. Of interest wasthe finding of a large number of adults and children with large corneas, and anomaliesof the retinal vascular patterns. formation. However, improvement wasnoted in most lesions and in no case was there any aggravation of the lesion or tendency to develop chronic radiation dermatitis, or any change that appeared to be malignant or premalignant. In view ofthe generally favorable progress of the lesions, no biopsies for microscopic study were taken onthis survey. Laboratory Examinations Hematological - Routine. The basic hemato- logical data are presented in Tables 3 to 6, The mean blood counts of the exposed people and of the various comparison populations are shownfor the 4-year period since March 1954. In Figure 7 are plotted the mean of two separate absolute blood counts on the exposed groups carried out during the 4-year survey, along with mean levels for other post-irradiation intervals; the open circles represent the mean values for the comparison population. The blood data have beenclassified as in the past according to age and sex.* The following represent the findings on the more heavily exposed Rongelap group compared to those on the unexposed Rongelap people. WBC. The mean WEC wasslightly higher in both exposed and unexposed groups in both the <5 and >5 year age groups comparedwith the levels a year ago (see Table 3 and Figure 7), The exposed level is about the same as the control level. The neutrophils showed a furtherslight decrease in the exposed group since a year ago (Table 3, Figure 7). These counts in most cases reached a peak at 1 to 2 years post-exposure and declined during the following 2 years. In fact the counts this year are the lowest since the maximum depression occurred at 6 weeks post-exposure. In spite of this observation, the counts show little difference (5% less) from those in the unexposed group. A scattergram (Figure8) age distribution Sex Age,yr Rongelap Ailingnae Unexposed Rongelap Examination of the Skin Twelve cases continued to show residual evidence of beta lesions of the skin. These werefor the most part mild and consistedof slight atrophy and pigment aberration. A few lesions showed scarring and atrophy with slight adhesion of the ci f~2 Lad w—-3 = om C54 skin to subcutaneoustissues, and lack of pigment *Leukocytes: Platelets: Hematocrits: both <5 F M all ages <15 F all ages both %>5 M <10 M >10 M > 15 8 56 9 22 33 12 19 33 2 3 16 2 5 80 10 40 5 34 1 2 1] 34 17 34