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Brookhaven chose the method of whole-body counting to follow fesium
in the exposed population, supplemented by urinary analysis to detBrmine

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Internal Dose - Brookhaven National Laboratory

strontium and plutonium-239 (Conard et al, 1980; Lessard et al 1988b,
1984c; Miltenberger et al 1980). The method is the definitive onef for
cesium, since it is a direct measure of what is wanted and it is
independent of assumptions regarding the diet and other external
fActors.
It is of primary importance for the present case, since cesium acqpunts
for some 80% of the internal whole-body dose.
The Brookhaven results in Fig. 4.3 #1 show the decline in cegiun-137
body burden from about 670,000 picocuries in 1958-65 (.11 rem/yea
about 175,000 picocuries in 1979 (.03 rem/year).
Thus the Brook
cesium internal dose-rate of .030 rem/year (whole-body) in 1978 w
33% of that by the dietary input method (.094 rem/year). The 30cesium whole-body dose was .624 rem. The tissue doses to bone su
red marrow, liver, etc. would be equal to this figure.

DOE-1982 overstated the cesium dose by a factor of three, r
to whole-body counting. The most likely source of the discrepancl

would

be the diet--the use of the type B diet. Robison (1983) has reported
evidence that this could be so. If the MLSC diet (imports available)

were employed (Note 11, Table 1), the cesium body content calculated from

the imput data (.19 microcuries) would be in approximate agreement
1978 with that measured by whole-body counting (.17 microcuries)
Lessard and Robison agree to this statement?)

for
(Do

We do not have an independent field check on the accuracy og the
whole-body field measurements. The point may be made, however, fhat it

was this team that discovered the precipitous rise in body-burdeg of the
Bikini settlers in 1977-78 and who therefore called for their resoval

from Bikini Atoll (Conard et al, 1980; Miltenberger et al, 1980)
In the case of strontium, we shall take the 1980 findings

value. The annual whole-body dose based on urine analysis was

face

about .001

rem, from which I calculate a 30-year dose of .021 rem.
The
corresponding tissue doses are: red marrow .11 rem; bone surfates,
ren.

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