72
EFFECTS OF IONIZING RADIATION
Table 5.4.—Gross Beta Activity in Urine of People From Ailinginae and the Americans
AILINGINAE
Day 46 Post DETONATION
case No,
6
8
AMERICANS
Day 44 Post DETONATION
TTLVouruny BenaActmre
Age<5 yrs
44
Mean: ____.-_-.--
150
150
217
217
Age 6-15 yrs
48
180
164
§1
370
88
275
126
900
765
53
Mean__________--
Age>16 yrs
1
16
28
29
880
680
780
2
80
920
610
850
410
70
440
722
827
1202
0
46
8 62
754
680
400
0
55
3
Toray,Voutel Dansetme
401
1, 970
4
440
2
3
650
1, 224
0
0
820
78
5
735
900
948
7
8
1, 340
1, 410
0
1, 260
9
Wo
ee
eee eee
ll
12
13
1, 580
1, +60
1, 810
6
0
EL ee ee
Le eee ee
385
0
965
14
720
438
15
16
1, 380
1, 9380
830
0
17
1
3
4]
43
45
51
Mean. __________Mean
case No.
18
19
20
3
23
24
25
26
945
1, 520
0
1, 30
1, oe
55
Beer te
1, 180
1, 160
1, 380
510
__L___--
46
35
0
6
°
[terete
0
750
187
323
27
565
28
1, 220
0
1, 158
309
Mean___________-
--- eee ee
Values corrected for decay.
beta activity at 45 days post detonation (Table
5.5). The predominant radionuclide is Sr®,
which contributes 42 percent of the total beta
activity at this time.
Assays of fissile material made on pooled
samples of urine were all negative within experimental limits.
The early urine samples analyzed by the
LASL(collected 15 days post detonation) con-
tained fair amounts of radioiodine in addition
to the alkaline and rare earths.
On the basis of the radiochemical analysis
of the urine, the body burden (the radioisotopic
deposition in the tissues) was estimated. The
ratio between the activity of the urine and the
amount of isotope fixed in the body is required
for this calculation. However, few ratios are .
available for the deposition of the various radioelements in humans, so that it was necessary
to utilize ratios obtained from animalstudies.
Of the animals collected on Rongelap, the pig
was selected as the closest. to the human insize
and metabolism. A detailed study was therefore made onthe excretion of these animals and