Table 5.
Concentrations of 239,240), in Bikini fish
(combined data for fish
muscle and eviscerated whole fish) and invertebrates; the sign "<"
denotes the detection limit for that sample; actual concentration
was somewhere below this limit.
No. of fish
Species
239,240,
per sample
pCi/kg wet
Data from
Ref. No.
Surgeon fish
3
<0.45
13
Surgeon fish
1
8.1
13
Convict surgeon
39
<0.45
13
Convict surgeon
4
12.6
13
Convict surgeon
1
4.5
13
Convict surgeon
4
7.7
13
Panulirus (lobster)
8
<0.4
14
Grapsus (crab)
5
1.7 = 0.5
14
in fish at Bikini Atoll is 2.2 pCi/kg
New York shellfish and fish of
wet weight.
0.011 pCi/kg and 0.0016 pCi/kg wet
Concentrations in in-
vertebrate muscle average 1 pCi/kg.
weight, respectively.
If we assume an average daily intake
annual intake of plutonium from New
of 600 g (or 219 ke/yr),2> the total
York marine products would be
annual plutonium intake would be
0.024 pCi.
482 pCi.
take through the marine food pathway
For comparison, the data listed
The total
Thus, the plutonium in-
in Bikini is 2 x 10° the intake
in Table 3 show a concentration in
through the same pathway in New York.
Intake Concentrations Compared
with Excreted Concentrations
Since surface soil concentrations are
The estimated annual intake of
plutonium through various pathways
much higher at Bikini than in New
is given in Table 6.
York, and the material resuspended
With the pos~
sible exception of the inhalation
by a person in his immediate environ-
pathway, available data indicate that
ment may be more important than open-
all exposure pathways will contribute
air plutonium concentrations for
a higher plutonium body burden to
estimating intake by inhalation, we
Bikinians than to New York residents.
believe that the plutonium intake via
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