2
others may have an opportunity to make further
calculationsif desired.
Table | lists exposure data on the various populations involved in the fallout. In the following
rary village was constructed for the Rongelap
people (including the 18 from Ailingnae) on
Majuro Atoll several hundred miles to the south,
where they lived for the following 3% years and
were examined at yearly intervals by a special
summary, except wheredata are broken downinto
moredetail, the exposed group includes the people
exposed on Rengelap and on Ailingnae (subject
Nos. 1 to 86).
medical team. In July 1957, after careful evalu-
ation of radioactive contamination, Rongelap
Island was consideredsafe for habitation. A new
village was constructed, and the Rongelap people
were moved there by Navy ship. The annual med-
Summary of Past Findings
ical surveys have since been carried out on Ronge-
lap Island.
A group of more than 100 Rongelap people,
who wererelatives of the exposed people but had
been awayfrom theisland at the timeofthe accident, moved back with the Rongelap people to
their home island and have served as an ideal
comparison population for the studies. The number has since increased to > 200. Following the
initial survey of the Utirik people on Kwayalein in
1954, repeat surveys have been carried out on.
these people about every 3 years, including the | 2year survey. In addition, during the past survey, as
in the previous surveys, a visit was made to Kwayjalein and Majuro Atolls for examination of a number of Rongelap people now residing at these
atolls, and also groupsof children whorepresent
parts of the control group used for the growth and
development studies of the exposed children.
The accumulation of data from these surveysis
becoming increasingly voluminous. Since condiuons have not been favorable for performance of
extensive statistical analyses or use of electronic
computing procedures to store and manipulate the
data, the annual survey reports published by this
Laboratory are made as complete as possible. This
report, therefore, includes a considerable amount
of raw data, much of it in appendices, so that
Reports have been published on the medical
findings of surveys made at the following times
after exposure: initial examination,’ 6 months,’
1 year,' 2 years,‘ 3 years,’ 4 years," 5 and 6 years,’
7 years,” 8 years,” and 9 and 10 years.'° Appendix
1 gives a more complete list of reports, including
outside publications, on the results of medicalsur-
veys of the Marshallese exposed to fallout and includes a section on the radiation ecological studies
of these Islands published largely by the University of Washington group. Thefollowing is a brief
summary of the medical findings previously
reported.
Duringthe first 24 to 48 hr after exposure, about
% of the people exposed on Rongelap Island experienced anorexia and nausea. A few vomited
and had diarrhea, many also experienced itching
and burning of the skin, and a few complained of
lacrimation and burning of the eyes. None ofthese
symptoms was notedin the Utirik people (14-rad
group). Following this, the people remained
asymptomatic until about 2 weeks after the accident, when cutaneouslesions and loss of hair developed, due largely to beta irradiation of the skin.
It was apparent when the people were first examined, a few days after exposure, that the lvm-
Table 1
Summary ofFallout Effects
Group*
Composition
Fallout observed
Rongelap
Ailingnae
64 Marshallese
18 Marshallese
Heavy (snowlike)
Moderate (misthike)
Utirik
157 Marshallese
None
Rongerik
28 Americans
Estimated gamma
dose (rads)
Moderate {(mistlike)
*Also exposed were 23 Japanese fishermen who received a subiethal dose.
175
69
78
14
Extent of skin lesions
Extensive
Less extensive
Slight
No skin lesions or epilation