a7
mass and/or total blood volume with total body
weight used as a base line. During the 1963 survey,

Rongelapas result of their fallout radiation exposure. Attempts at 8 and 9 years post exposure
to obtain suitable blood cultures had not been
entirely successful. However, during the 10-year
survey a slight modification of the Moorehead
technique’® resulted in a series of satisfactory

similar studies were performed on 21 Marshall
Islanders, but these data were related to total

body water as determined bytritiated water.*®

Results showedthat in all instances but one the
values for red cell mass and total blood volumefell
below normallevels for persons living in temperate
zones of the United States.
The present study was undertaken during the

cultures on 51 people: 30 in the higher exposure
group (175 rads), 13 in the lower exposure group

(69 rads) and 8 from the unexposed Rongelapese

who were on another island at the time of the
accident. Thedetailed results of these studies are

surveys in 1965 and 1966. A total of 19 Caucasian

Americans (3 females and 16 males) living in the
Marshall Islands for periods of 3 monthsto 9 years
were examined bythe same techniques.* There-

presented in Appendix 14.*

Table 25 summarizes the results. A higher in-

cidence of aneuploid cells was noted in the exposed
group, butthe difference was not great enoughto
be significant. Unexpectedly, the lower exposure

sults of these studies on each individual are pre-

sented in Appendix 15, along with data on the 21

Marshailese in whom these studies were carried
out in 1963. The data were programmed and

Oat wall

group showed more aberrations than did the more
heavily exposed group,and the latter group showed
even less aberrations than the unexposed. However, the incidence of 2-hit aberrations wassignificantly higher ( <(0.004) in the exposed groups
and did appear to be radiation induced. Figure

analyzed by a high speed digital computer. Re-

gression lines obtained for the Caucasians and the

Marshallese are presented in Figure 67 along with
regression lines ofMoore’andSiri"* for Americans.
The Marshallese regression lines for both blood

66 shows a dicentric and a ring form noted in
chromosomespreadsfrom two exposedindividuals.

volumeandred cell colume have very nearly the

same slopes as the lines of the Siri and Moore

native environment have shown reducedredcell

groups, but thev are significantly below the latter
(significant at the 1% level). The Caucasiansliving
in the Marshall Islands also show regression lines
for blood volume and red blood ceili volume with
slopes similar to those of the Marshallese and the
Siri and Moore groups. Comparison of the regres-

*We are grateful to Dr. Shields Warren and his eroup at the
Cancer Research Institute in Boston for carrying out the chromosome analyses.

carrying out the tritium-water analyses.

OTHER LABORATORY STUDIES
Total Blood Volame and Red Cell Volume
Previous studies (1961, 1962) with °'Cr-labeled

ervthrocytes on Marshallese subjectsliving in their

sion lines showsnosignificant difference between
*Weare grateful to Dr. W.E. Siri, University of California, for

Table 25

Summary of ChromosomeFindings

No. of
persons

No. of
cells
scored

Percent
of cells
with
2n3446

Exposed
175 rads

30

1500

10

Exposed
69 rads

13

650

8

8

400

3.5

Group

Unexposed

No. of
persons
with
aberrations

Chromosomeaberrations
Total
aberrations

Totai
cells
with
aberrations

5

22
(1.46%)

20
(1.33%)

43

15

1

8

21
(3.23%)

18
(2.77%)

31

4

-

-

6

5

Fragments

Dicentrics

Rings

Exchanges

12
(40% )

11

6

-

11
(84.6%)

10

2

9

-

5

(62.5%)

9

(2.25%)

8

(2.0%)

ChroIsomatid chromand
breaks
gaps

Select target paragraph3