Project Number

~Battelle
Pacific

Northwest

Internal Distribution
Laboratories

---

,4%1 e)LB
s..

April 5, 1979

Dale

J. Solciat and E. C. Watson

To

Subject

Can you give me a quick idea about how much effort would be required
to calculate the radiation dose (whole body, bone and lung to people
who might return to live on an island in the Enewetak Atoll?
The following are known:
1.

Constituents of diet

2.

Levels of ‘OSr, ‘37CS, 241Am and 239Pu in soil

3.

Radionuclide contents of foodstuffs grown in soil of known
radionuclide levels at Bikini. Since there are no data available
on food grown at Enewetak, levels in food will have to be calculate
as follows:
Radionuclides
Radionuclides

4.

in Bikini Food
in Bikini Soil

Assumptions about Resuspension,

=

Radionuclides
Radionuclides

in Enewetak Food
in Enewetak Soil

etc.

We would probably want to calculate annual and 30-year doses if the people
moved back in 1980 and possibly in 1990 or some other given time in the
future.
Livermore is actually doing this dose calculation.
However, since so much
is riding on these dose estimates, we on the Enewetak Advisory Group have
It is possible
recommended that the Livermore calculations be verified.
that two or three labs would be asked to do the verification.
I don’t
think it is necessary to make a major production of this. For one thing
there won’t be time. We would probably have about two weeks--2nd or 3rd
week in May. The Livermore calculation won’t be available until then.
It might be possible to get the input data before then.
If you could give me a quick idea about this by Friday pm, I would
appreciate it since I need it for a trip to Wash. on Sunday.
I’d also like to know whether you would be interested in doing this if
DOE decides to go ahead. I don’t know how much money, if any, would
be available, but I would assure that you don’t bear the cost.
WJB:ms

34-1900-001

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