TABLE 4.4—Radioactive Contamination Associated with Edible Portions of
Food Plants of Rongelap and Utirik
(Day 69 postdetonation)
Estimated pc beta activity*
Pandanus
Coconut
Papaya
Entire edible portion
Entire milk
Entire edible portion
Arrowroot
Entire washed edible portion
0.004 (2)
Entire unwashed plant
0.152 (3)
Entire unwashed plant
Entire edible portion
1 liter
0.200
1,41 (3)
Squash
Coconut tree sap
Utirik
Rongelap
Sample
Food plant
0.02—0.2 (3)
0.004
0.025
0.036
0.008
0.001
0.160
0.11 (3)
* Numberof individual samples analyzed are given in parentheses.
TABLE 4.5—Radiochemical Analysis of Various Rongelap Samples
Sample
Total beta
activity
Strontium
activity
Barium
activity
Rare-earth activity
Sepr. time|
Timet
t(hr)
Disintegrations per Minute per Total Sample, Day 72 Postdetonation
Thatch
(7.2 g)
Grass
(9.8 g)
Pandanus
(entire core)
Water
Filtered
Solids
Wash from hen
1.85 x10"
1.06x10°
9.15 x 10°
6.88 x 10°
|5.84x 108]
66
2.21 x 108
1.03x10°
3.77 x10?
8.28105
7.35 x 10°;
52
2.70x 10°
5.21104
1.96 x10!
1.92 x 105
1.82 x 10°]
52
1.24108
2.85 x 10°
5.12104
6.70x10°
1.05 x 104
1.07 x 104
1.61 x 10°
9.8 x 10°
2.11 x 104 1.24 104!
1.55105 |1.46x 10°]
2.38 x 107
66
52
No, 1
Disintegrations per Minute per Total Sample, Day 93 Postdctonation
Rongelap coconut
tree sap (300 cc)
Rongelap cistern
Water liquid
Solid (800 cc)
Total
1.22105
4,29 x 108
2.72 x 104
5.6x104
4.57 x 104
9.0 x 104
2.26 x 109
7.45 x10)
11.2 x 103
4,31 x 105
6.4 104
10.1 x 104
barium, and rare-earth components between the samples of thatch, pandanus, and water,
probably as a function of the different solubilities of the radioelements.
(b) Water, One of the most important sources of contamination for the Marshall Islanders
was their water supply. Water on the island of Rongelap was obtained from one of two systems,
open cisterns or open wells. Rongelap and Utirik cistern water showed higher levels of con-
tamination than the corresponding well-water samples, as might be expected. At 34 days post-
detonation a representative sample of water taken from an open well had a beta activity of approximately 0.88 yc/liter. Another sample of water taken from a cistern had an activity of
2.5 wc/liter at 34 days postdetonation.
44