19
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

The mean concentration of 137¢6 5p 241 an and 239,240, in surface soil
(Table 4) varies significantly between atolls. Soils from Bikini and Rongelap

atolls (excepting Rongelap Island and probably other southern islands which

were not surveyed) hayg,similar amounts and kinds of radionuclides. In these
two areas amounts of
Cs and 90sr usually range from 20 to 300 pCi/g and

amounts of 24lpm and 239,240Pu range from 10 to 80 pCi/g.

Soil from a second

group of atolls, Rongerik and Ailinginae, plus Rongelap Istand has radionuclide

concentrations which are about an order of magnitude less than those noted above.
Radioactivity amounts on Utirik, the easternmost atoll sampled in the Marshall

Islands, are 5 to 10 times less than amounts on Rongerik and Ailinginae, but
are still higher than amounts found in the single soil sample from Wotho Atoll.

This atoll was south of the main pattern of fallout from Bravo which contaminated

the other atolls.

Kwajalein Atoll is further south and has even lower amounts of

radioactivity. With slight variations, the differences between atolls exhibited
by the soils can also be seen in Pandanus leaves, a representative plant sample

(Figure 7) and in mullet, a representative fish (Table 5).

Christmas Island which was contaminated by a different series of tests
than the Marshall Islands had lower amounts of fallout radionuclides than
any atoll we surveyed in the Marshalls during 1974 and 1975. The naturally

occurring radionuclides 40k and 238u were the predominant radionuclides in
samples from Christmas Istand.

Comparison of Radioactivity between Islands in Bikini Atoll
Differences in the radioactivity between areas of Bikini Atoll are most

apparent in the soil data in Table_4.

Soil from Nam [sland next to Bravo Crater

contains the highest amounts of 13/cs, 90sr, 24lAm and 239,240py of any soil
we collected in 1974 and 1975.

Samples of soil from Bikini Island contained

about one-third the 90Sr and 137cs, and one-tenth the 241Am and 239,240pu found
in soil from Nam. The 137c¢s/90sr and 241Am/239:240py ratios are similar in

the soil from Nam and Bikini (between 1 and 2) indicating that the major
source of radionuclides on these two islands was the same test and was probably
the Bravo test of 1 March 1954.

Enidrik Island in the southern part of Bikini Atoll had less 90Sr, 137¢s
and 24lam in the surface soil than did Bikini Island, but Enidrik soil] had
about twice as much ¢39>240py. The ratios of these radionuclides in the soil
from Enidrik were ©.25 for 137c¢s/90sr and +10 241Am/239,240pu, These ratios
are quite different from those found in soil from Nam or Bikini islands and
indicate a different source for the fallout on Enidrik. The most likely

source was the test series on the west end of Eneman Island, which lies

about 1000 meters east of Enidrik,

Radioactivity in fish collected from the shallow areas around four islands
of Bikini Atoll does not vary as markedly or as consistently as does the radioactivity in the soil.

Mullet (Table 5) collected near Bikini Island had higher

DOE ARCHIVES

sot aeng TS SRN wscen NeaeRMni

Comparison of Radioactivity between Atolls
.
In order to compare the radioactivity found in biological and environmental
Samples from the seven atolls and Christmas Island, the results of the analyses of
selected samples of soil, plants, and animals were summarized for each atoll.
These data are shown in Tables 4 and 5 and in Figure 7.

Select target paragraph3