Since 1965, the distribution of >> Be in the biosphere has been studied both in the United States and in the Scandinavian ‘countries. Initially, >? Be concentrations were determined in Alaskan Eskimos, residents of Richland, Washington, representative foodstuffs of both (1). and in Subsequently, 3356 concentrations in environmental samples and in residents of Finland (2) and Sweden Q) were reported which generally confirmed the findings of the earlier study. Additional research shows ‘that (i) marine organisms and people whose diet is largely seafood contain the highest concentrations of 55 ne (4); (ii) residents of the northern hemisphere have higher ar body burdens than those of the southern hemisphere (5); and (iii) the Fe levels in people reached peak concentrations in 1966 and | continue to decrease (6,7). We determined the 5556 body burdens of natives at Rongelap Atoll in the Marshall Islands. seafoods Not only is their diet high in (8), but the atoll received high-level fallout following the detonation of a thermonuclear device at Bikini Atoll in 1954 (9). We considered it probable that retention of re at the atoll from that event, coupled with world-wide fallout from large- scale nuclear device testing in 1961-62 could lead to unusual body burdens of this radionuclide in the Rongelapese. Nhe method of separation of Fe was identical to that previously described in this journal (1). The counting technique