Table 1.

Percent of persons in Marshallese populations

having thyroid nodules (1979).

Age <18 in 1954*
No,

Z with
nodules

4.8
2.4

44
79

15.9
11.4

4.5
1.3

0.7

0.2

115

11.3

0.9

103
102

3.9
1.0

1.0
0.0

59
90

6.8
4.4

0.0
0.0

1193

/ 1.2

292

8.2

0.7

Group

No.

2 with
nodules

42
85

52.4
9.4

553
435

2 with
carcinoma

Age >18 in 1954
& with
carcinoma

Exposed in 1954

Rongelap
ucirik

kk

Comparison populations
Rongelap
Utirik
Wot je
Likiep
ALL

1.4

0.2

0.25

38

7.9

2.6 (1 case)

*The comparison populations include children not yet born in 1954.
prevalence not subtracted from exposed estimates.
**Includes 19 people exposed on Ailingnae.

Unexposed

from natural radiation might have been subtracted from the above estimates.
Exposure to natural radiation during the years the people were away from their

home island was not added to the above doses since comparisons are to be made
with unexposed population statistics, in which such exposure is inherent.
Table 3 shows the expected percentage of persons with thyroid nodules

and cancer dee to exposure to residual radiation on Rongelap and Utirik.

Esti-

mates are calculated for the highest exposure doses assuming continuous habitation on the islands (half-time habitation for children). The table shows that
the percentage of people with thyroid nodules and cancer would not be detectable in a population this size and would be far below the spontaneous incidence. The data presented are probably overestimates in view of the factors
discussed above.

- 105 -

Select target paragraph3