Some 270 samples of urine have been analyzed. Owing toa reorganization at Brookhaven, the work for this project was stopped (no funds), and the results were neither tabulated nor analyzed. For the Rongelap Preliminary Report of April 26, 1988, the Brookhaven Laboratory gave Dr. Lessard, the former manager of the program, two days of free time and he reported on some details. Since then, starting in June a summer student, Mr. George Taylor,* has been extracting data from the notebooks and should be able to tabulate a summary by the end of summer. Meanwhile, Mr. Taylor has sent me some results for the first 104 cases, which are displayed in Table N.12 #1. (a) As noted above, the range ofexcretion is very large -- from less than 1 x 10-5 pci/d to 5 x 10-3 pCi/d. The significance of. this range is not known. (b) The distribution of the data appears to be logarithmic and bimodal. Thus it may be suggested that two populations are at risk. The populations might differ physiologically (one absorbs transuranics much more readily than the other); environmentally (diet, contamination of Samples); or technically (a change in technique or technician). Of these, contamination might be the most likely; it is very difficult to ecllect good urine samples in the Marshalls. But any or all of these variables may have played a role. (c) The results are not primarily dependent on sex or age, although these factors may play a role. (d) The youngest group appears to have a somewhat higher excretion rate than the oldest one, at least in males. This could be due to a more rapid metabolic turnover of the radionuclides. Tritium and iodine, for example, have half-residence times in infants of 3 days and 30 days respectively, but in adults 10 days and 100 days (Hoenes, et al 1977). The long-term compartments of plutonium have an average half-time in the body of about 35 years, which could be much less in infants and children. The higher outputs of the children might therefore represent faster metabolism rather than greater intake. Although the arithmetic in the foregoing calculations may be correct, we may ask, "Are they consistent with what we know?" As a matter of judgment, I think the answer is, "No.". The maximum urinary output of plutonium-239 corresponds to 76 pCi/d input for the three transuranic elements. Looking over the data in Table 4.2 #1, it is difficult to see how anyone could eat sufficient food to accomplish this. Clams have the highest specific activity of the transuranics -- 131 x 10-4 pCi/g -- a specific activity that is about 50 times greater than the nearest competitor. One would therefore have to eat 5.8 kilograms per day, every day in the year, to satisfy the predictions of the Brookhaven analyses. (* Department of Nuclear Engineering, Texas A & M College of Engineering, College Station, Texas 77843. c/o Prof. John Poston.] 9000683 77