pe ne ee =

Table 15

Average Estimate of Activity Intake from Cistern Water

Rongelap Island

Bq

135y
134,
1334
133m
132,
131y

7.8x102
1.4x10°
1.0x10
1.5x103
4.1x10°
7.8x10*

Sifo Island

uci

21
3.8
28
0.040 11
2.1

Bq

uci

1.7x10°
6.7x104%
1.6x10>
6.7x102
5.9x10%
l.lxl0*

4.7
1.8
4.2
0.018
1.6
0.29

Utirik Island

Bq

6.7x10*
2.6x109
1.4xi02
3.4x10%

uci

1.8
7.0
3.9
0.93

and prepared foods such as cooked pumpkin, starch tubes, rice, and bread prod-

ucts over open campfires (see Figure 13).
on open air racks prior to intake.

d.

Activity Ingested with Meals.

In addition, fish was normally dried
Most of the activity fell at

Rongelap lsland during preparation of the midday and evening meals. Fallout was
visible even on peoples’ skin, and caused itching, sneezing, and coughing

(Sh57).

The living pattern of the Marshallese led to direct ingestion of BRAVO

fallout in amounts which can be estimated on the basis of meal intake and if the
I activity measured in urine is used as a normalization point. The living

patterns at Utirik and Sifo were similar to those at Rongelap (Na80).

No altera-

tion in daily routine was thought to occur and no attempt at removing visible
fallout from food was reported by persons evacuated from Rongelap or Sifo Is-

lands (Sh57).

Fallout was distributed on the surface of Rongelap Island at 0.5

day post-detonation at a level of about 3.7 x 1019 gq m2 (1 Ci m2) (see Table

13). This was in agreement with soil sample results obtained on March 8, 1954
(OC68). On the basis of a conversion factor given by the persons doing the so1l
analysis (0C68), the measured soil specific activity was converted to activity
per unit area at 0.5 day post-detonation for comparison purposes. Their value
for Rongelap [sland based on four samples, was 2.0 x 1019 + 2.7 x 1010 Bq m

(0.53 + 0.72 Ci m2).

Random soil sampling was done at Utirik I[sland, Sifo Island,
Eniwetak Island, and other islands at Rongelap, Ailingnae, Utirik, and Rongerik
Atolls (0C68). At the end of fallout deposition at Utirik Island, which we
estimated to be 1.5 days post detonation, the surface activity based on one soil
sample was 1.0 x 1910 Bq m* (0.27 Ci m72), This very large result does not
agree with estimates we derive from exposure-rate measurements. At this activity per unit area, the exposure rate 1.5 days post-detonation should have been
8.3 x 1074 ¢ kg! h7! (3.2 R hvly, however, the island average was estimated

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nas,

- 45 -

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