Qo.
Nelson.
‘
@
3
At Rongelap and Utirik Samples were yathered to attempt to correlate
radiation levels
in soil with adjacent
fruit trees
(pandanus,
coconut, bread-
fruit) and arrowroot, messerschmidia, scaveola plants for a possible extrapolation purposes at Bikini-and Eniwetak where vegetation samples are limited.
Other samples collected included 24-hour urine samples, water, coconut crabs
and certain marine specimens.
It will be some time before radiochemical analyses
of these samples is completed and the data analyzed,
Gama spectrographic analysis (whole-body counts) were carried out on 22
people at Utirik, 46 at Rongelap and 31 people at Bikini, including members of
the families who had returned.
These data are undergoing computer analysis.
Preliminary analysis of these data give the following estimated average body
burdens of 137cs:
MALES
No.
Bikini
Utirik
Rongel ap
U.S.Medical
Team
*
18
9
22
6
MCi
Body burden
0.129
0.262
0.475
0.0021
FEMALES
% MPC
*
4.3
8.7
15.8
0.07
{
|
No.
13
13
24
—
uci
Body burden
0.073
0.133
0.317
7MPC
*
2.6
4.4
10.6
.
.
Using 3 4Ci MPC-based on the standard 1/10 of the maximum permissible burden
for industrial populations which is 30 KCi according to the Recommendations
of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Public.2
(1959).
A gamma survey was carried out on Bikini Island using a scintillation type
Survey meter calibrated for 137Cs which respresents about 95% of the gamma radiation on the island.
Preliminary analyses showed roughly the following levels on
the island:
A.
Village (Living area)
Inside cement houses with coral
covered yards
Outside cement houses with coral
;
B.
Average UR/hr.
2.38
covered yards
3.95
Inside cement houses without yard
covered coral
2.98
Outside cement houses without yard
covered coral
9.44
Along village road
13.1
Interior-coconut groves
41.6