CHAPTERIll
Radiochemical Analyses
Tables 24 and 25 show the radiochemical
muscle of the rooster (40 percent of the total
samples collected in late July 1956 and analyzed
Ru'®-Rh™ and Zr*-Nb*®contributed the largest
percentage of the total beta activity.”
The AFL reports:
. The Sr® values for food plants, except
Tables 28 and 29 show the radiochemical
analyses made by NRDLfor the February 1955
survey? and Tables 30, 31, 32, and 33 for the
February 1956 survey. Table 34 shows addi-
tional analysis of soils from the February 1956
survey including data on exchangeable calcium.
Tables 4, 5, 6, 13, 14, 19, 20, 23, and 35 show
analyses by HASL.
In terms of a potential biological hazard the
strontium-90 activity is of most interest. At
one year post detonation NRDL reports:
. In muscle and viscera samples of the
animals from Rongelap, Utirik, and Rongerik,
Sr® contributes approximately 0.5 percent of
the total beta activity. Sr is present in an
a
approximately 1:1 ratio with Sr*. Since the
Hunter and Ballou calculations indicate that
Sr® and Sr® each contribute about 2 percent
of the total beta activity at one year after fission, there does not appear to be any fractionation of radiostrontium into the soft tissues.
As expected, most of the internally deposited
radioactivity was found in the skeleton.
“Tissues of a few marine specimen were
analyzed for Cs’ (37-year half-life)* since this
nuclide was present in high concentrations in
water and coconut milk from this area.
The
stituted a few percent of the total beta activity.
coconuts, collected in October 1955 approximate the theoretical proportion of mixed fission
products activity” at 1.7 years, 4 percent.
Coconuts contained 0.1 percent Sr® with appropriate correction for time of collection. .. .
“..
In contrast to the strictly marine
forms, the coconut crab, which feeds principally
on Jand plants, had Sr® levels of 3 percent in
the muscle and 12 percent in the hepato-
pancreas orliver, where calcium salts are stored.
The radioisotopes in salts leached from the
carapace were found to consist entirely of
Sr®-Y™, . .,
. Radionuclides of Sr, Cs, Ce and their
daughters did not accountfor the total activity
in most (fish) samples analyzed. Complete
fission product anelyses of samples collected
at Eniwetok and Bikini Atolls indicate that
non-fission-product radionuclides may account
for more than half of the total activity in some
fish.
Zn contributes one-fourth or more of
the total activity in shark muscle as determined
by radiochemical analysis and confirmed by
following the decay.”
(Zn™ is not a fission
tissues of the rooster and of the coconut crab
product.)
high fraction of Cs” activity was noted in the
indicate the high percentage of Zn® in fish.
*Bee Bection IV.
contain significant amounts of Cs".
*Newest estimates indicate 27.7-year half-life,
A very
The two-year survey by NRDL continues to
ee eeten Aiea esa ere
by AFL no radiostrontium was found.
beta).* Further radioanalyses of marine specimensindicated that the rare earth group con-
3
DOE ARCHIVES
'
ET ey
analyses made by AFL for the 1954-55 surveys,? and Tables 26 and 27for the July 1956
survey.’ In two pools of 15 and 19 fish muscle