OFFICIAL USE ORLY
Copra processing plants which process copra from islands of the
western Pacific ere in the Philippines and Japan.
The copra is washed
and run through a press which extracts the coconut oil leaving a residue which is called copra meal.
The oil is used in foods and cosmetics.
The oil is reported to have a low mineral content and very low levels
of radioactivity.
Radioactivity such as
137 Cs
in the processec. copra
ends up in the copra meal which contains about 20> protein and 5% oil.
This meal is a good quality animal feed and is used for dairy cows.
137 Cs in copra meal can be expecved to be
On a gran basis the levcl of
5 to 10 times the level in fresh coconut meat.
In the case of coconuts
from Bikini, if the levels of 137 Cs in future crops are as high as found
in the 1969 samples, the copra meal may contain 60C to 1,200 pCi/g.
Measures recommended by the Ad Hoe Committee for minimizing levels
of radioactivity in Pandanus (removing 2 inches of soil at the plentings
site over an area covered by the crown of mature trees) may also be needcd
for planting coconut trees on Bikini.
determined with present information.
Whether this is needed cannot be
If needed, tne justification would
not be so much the protection of the Bikini people but rather to minimize
the level of
137 Cs
.
in the copra meal that Js a byproduct of production of
ccconut oil.
OFFICTAL USE OLY
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