jute. Table 7. Total-body dosimetric average for external plus internal sources for former Bikini residents. Mean Dose Number of persons tesidence interval (yr) Dose equivalent during residence interval (mrem) Adult males 17 4.9 1100 110 Children (age 5-14) 12 4.4 1200 140 Population description Adult females D. 16 4.3 equivalent commitment (mrem) 830 85 Other Atolls The possible dose equivalents to people on some other atolls in the northern Marshalls such as Likiep and Wot je would no doubt be considerably below those to people living on Rongelap and Utirik, and the relative exposure to the potent short-lived iodine isotopes would probably be considerably less. The lower contamination of the islands in the southern rim of each test atoll (Bikiai and Enewetak) compared with that in the northern areas of the atoll in- dicates that the southern thrust of the fallout was much less than the easterly and northeasterly thrust. E. Reliability of Early Exposure Estimates The absorbed dose estimates to the exposed Marshallese are approximate, and the uncertainties in many of the parameters involved in obtaining them make it impossible to state their statistical reliability. 1. Whole-Body Doses (Gamma Radiation) Since the radiometric readings on each inhabited island were relatively uniform, the gamma doses received by the individuals on a particular island are not t 1ought to have varied greatly. However, the children, being smaller, may have received somewhat higher doses than the adults. Judging by the clinical findings in the exposed people, the dose estimates did not appear to be far out of line with what one might expect on the basis of human and animal exposure data. The early gastrointestinal symptoms implied significant exposure in the Rongelap people. The reduced symptoms in the populations on Ailingnae and Rongerik and their absence in the Utirik group were in conformity with the lower doses received by these populations. The degree of hematological depres-— sion (and the lack of clinical evidence of such depression, withuut lethality) is commensurate with the dose estimates in the Rongelap population. The lesser hematological depression in the Ailingnae and Rongerik groups and its absence (except for the slight decrease in platelets detectable only on a or s tit Au - 120 -