which includes smali fish, invertebrates and algae.
Tabie 2 contains data on the rate of decline of the beta radioactivity
. in reef fish collected at Rongelap and Ailinginae
26, 1954 and July 18, 1957.
Atolls between March
The rates of decline in liver, bone and
muscle tissue of fish from Kabelle Island are given in Figure !.
The
decline rates are similar for all three tissues, especially during the
first two years.
Recontamination by other nuclear devices during the
summer of 1956 is indicated by the increase of radioactivity in muscle
and bone and a temporary decrease in rate of decline in liver tissue.
At present, the radioactivity in liver tissue appears to be declining at
a more rapid rate than in bone or muscle, while the radioactivity in the
viscera or stomach contents has declined more rapidly than that of other
tissues (Table 2)
It has been suggested (Welander, 1957) that some of
the long-lived isotopes may be accumulating in the bone and muscle
fish, whereas the radioactivity in liver tissue is similar
of
to that in the
stomach, bearing out the fact that the liver is an organ for the temporary
storage and passage of food and waste products.
Itigs of
interest to note
that the levels of radioactivity in the bone and muacle are about the same
as those of the 1955 samples.
Data on radioactive decay were obtained from bone and liver tissue of
groupers (Epinephalus merra) from Kabelle and Rongelap Islands, and from
homogenized muscle tissues from 13 species of reef fish.
The decay rates
of muscle and bone Figure 1) are more rapid than decline rates for the