4ORL ES
|
oe
TN
y
(fe
SLVs
Cze5 Li.
A Summary of the Medicai Statue of the Harahailese as of March 1958.
ns
feur Years After Exposure to Sailout Aladiation.
The four-year ennual medical survey of the people of Aoncelap
Atoll, Harshail islands, who were expesed to radioactive fallout in March,
1954 was completed in March, 1958.
dn 1& wan wedicel tean was transported
te Renselan by Kavy 1.3T for the examinations.
Cemplete history anc physical examinations, including growth and
development studies in the children, tematoicricat cuaminations, ova art
parasite survey, and whole body geama spectroscopy for body burden of isoe
topes were carried cut,
The cata nas sot yet been therougniy gnaiyzec, and
only a few brief preliminary statexents can ba made at this tine in regard
to the latest examinations.
The people were found te be generaily in good health and their
setcition satisfactory.
A few residual changes acre 3¢132 present in the
skin of some people at the former sites of more severe deta burns.
aut
these changes were nonesymptomatic and characterized only by miid atrophy,
scarring, and nignent aberrations,
malignant changes have been seen.
No evicence of any preemalignaat cr
Since cegrowth of hair, no further evi-
Gences of exilation have dcen noted,
Sxceut for tha akin changes there
haye been no cutwnrd evidence of any radiation effects.
There have vecn
ho sy=ptom or diseases that could be related te radiation effecrs.
The
incidence of diseases wag found ta be about the same in the irradiated as
in the unirradiated Marshallese people used for conparcison.
There have been threc destha in the irradiated group.
could the cause of death be associated with radiation effects,
In 20 case
This inci~
dence of death arpears to be about the same ag in unexposed Karshalicae
peeplc.
BEST COPY AVAILABLE