37

Rongelapas a result of their fallout radiation ex-

mass and/or total blood volumewith total body

weightused as a base line. During the 1963 survey,
similar studies were performed on 21 Marshall

posure. Attemptsat 8 and 9 years post exposure

to obtain suitable blood cultures had not been

entirely successful. However, during the 10-year

Islanders, but these data were related to total

survey a slight modification of the Moorehead
technique’® resulted in a series of satisfactory
cultures on 51 peopie: 30 in the higher exposure
group (175 rads), 13 in the lower exposure group
(69 rads) and 8 from the unexposed Rongelapese
who were on another island at the time of the
accident. The detailed results of these studies are
presented in Appendix 14.*

body water as determined by tritiated water.'°
Results showedthat in all instances but one the
values for red cell mass and total blood voiumefell

below normallevels for persons living in temperate

zones of the United States.
The present study was undertaken during the
surveys in 1965 and 1966. A total of 19 Caucasian

Americans (3 females and 16 males) living in the

Marshall Islands for periods of 3 monthsto 9 years
were examined by the same techniques.* Theresults of these studies on each individual are presented in Appendix 15, along with data on the 21
Marshallese in whom these studies were carried
out in 1963. The data were programmed and
analyzed by a high speed digital computer. Re-

Table 25 summarizes the results. A higher in-

cidence of aneuploid cells was noted in the exposed
group, but the difference was not great enoughto
be significant. Unexpectedly, the lower exposure
group showed more aberrations than did the more
heavily exposed group,and the latter group showed
even less aberrations than the unexposed. How-

gression lines obtained for the Caucasians and the

ever, the incidence of 2-hit aberrations was significantly higher ( p <(0.004) in the exposed groups

Marshallese are presented in Figure 67 along with
regression lines of Moore” and Siri" for Americans.
The Marshallese regression lines for both blood

and did appearto be radiation induced. Figure
66 shows a dicentric and a ring form noted in
chromosomespreads from two exposed individuals.

volume and red cell colume have very nearly the

same slopes as the lines of the Siri and Moore
groups, but they are significantly below thelatter
(significant at the 1% level). The Caucasiansliving
in the Marshall Islands also show regression lines
for blood volumeand red blood cell volume with
slopes similar to those of the Marshallese and the
Siri and Moore groups. Comparison ofthe regression lines showsno significant difference between

OTHER LABORATORY STUDIES
Total Blood Volume and Red Cell Volume

Previous studies (1961, 1962) with °'Cr-labeled

erythrocytes on Marshallese subjects living in their
native environment have shown reduced redcell
*We are grateful to Dr. Shields Warren and his group at the

Cancer Research Institute in Boston for carrying out the chromosome analyses.

*Weare grateful to Dr. W_E. Siri, University of California. for

carrying out the tritium-water analyses.

Table 25

Summary of Chromosome Findings

Group

No. of
persons

persons

cells
scored

with
2n46

aberrations

No. of

of cells

Exposed

30

1500

10

Exposed
69 rads

13

650

8

8

400

5.5

175 rads

Unexposed

No. of

Percent

with

Chromosomeaberrations
Fragments

Dicentrics

12

Lt

6

-

5

11
(84.6%)

10

2

1

8

9

~

-

-

(40% )

5

(62.5%)

ExRings changes

Total
Total

aberrations
22

cells

with

aberrations

Chro-

Tso-

matid chromatid
breaks
gaps

(1.46%)

(1.33%)

20

43

15

21
(3.23%)

18
(2.77%)

31

+

6

5

9

(2.25%)

8

(2.0%)

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