ARTIOLES Number of Boys PROCEDURES Of the total population of 237 exposed Birth Year to fallout radiation, 112 (47%) were under the age of 20 years (Table I). Although some attrition in number has resulted from inter-island migration and from “gradua- tion” into the adult category, longitudinal data have becomeavailable for the majority of the children. This analysis, however, has been limited to growth data obtained from 1958 through 1963 on the 38 children ex- 1954 1933 1952 1951 1950 1949 1948 19-47 1946 1945 1944 1943 1942 & Number of Girls Exposed. Unexposed* Exposed Unexposed St 2 1t 7 1 4 $ ] 1 1 1 g 2 g 8 4 1 & 1 8 4 $ 2 2 1 g 1 2 8 4 2 4 1 2 3 1 posed at Rongelap and Ailingnae atolls 2 (Table III), 4 children exposed in utero, — 1 67 unexposed comparison children, 39 chil. earlier . 3 6 _ 9g 6 dren born to exposed parents, and 53 children born to unexposed parents on Ronge* Children born prior to December, 1954. lap subsequentto the radiation fallout. t Exposed in utero. Whenthe Rongelap people were returned to their homeisland in 1957, they were after 1957 as the comparison population. accompanied by a group of relatives and The age-sex statistics of the exposed and former Rongelap residents who had not unexposed children are shown on Table IV. been exposed to the fallout. These added During the evacuation phase, the hospital people are thought to be ethnologically comparable to the exposed group. Since these unexposed people, which included 69 in the pediatric age group, have continued to live and eat in the same environment as the exposed islanders, they have been used TABLEII NumpBer or CHttpnes ExamMiInep RonGeLar SERIES Year of Ezamination 1954 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 UnExposed exposed 38 39* 84" 36” Babies Born after December, 1954 To UnTo Exposed exposed Parent(s) Parent(s) and clinics at Kwajalein and Majuro were used for the medical surveys. Following repatriation, examination facilities were set up on Rongelap. Examinations, however, have been continued on Kwajalein and Majuro for those exposed islanders who had moved there. Routine annual pediatric work-up on each child has consisted of interval medical history, physical examination, physical an- thropometry, roentgenogram of left hand and wrist, complete blood count, and urin- alysis. During the period covered by this analysis, ophthalmological studies were carried out in 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1962 and dental surveys in 1959 and 1961. 67 50. 30* 50 30* Q5* 43 36 13 20 10 Spécial laboratory studies for clinical in- 26 32 dications and for survey purposes have in- 24 39 37 33 53 53 fluids, parasitological surveys, chromosome * Includes 4 who were exposed in utero. cluded biochemical determinations on body studies, skin biopsy examinations, radionu- clide body burden evaluations, immunoelectrophoretic analyses, and studies of ae fallout. TABLE IV Exrosep anp UNEXxposep Cnitoren RonGELAr SERIES ooo of about 370 mr/yr or a total dose of about 3 rads over the 9-year period since the 723