4. DOSE
DOE-1982 reported doses for persons living on Rongelap Island
for the period 1978-2008; for the corresponding period 1990-2020, they
would be 25% less:
(a) The "highest average amount of radiation the people might
receive in any part of the body" was 2.5 rem (over 30 years). I take
this to be Livermore's "integral dose” in which each year's delivery is
summed for 30 years (Robison et al, 1982b, Table 17). I will compare it
to the committed whole-body dose (rem) for 30 years (i.e., the committed
effective dose equivalent for a standard man).
(b) The corresponding bone marrow average would be 3.3 rem (Robison
et al, 1982b, Table 14). I take this to be the marrow "tissue dose" and
it is approximately equal to the committed dose equivalent.
DOE-1982 stated that the doses are based on the condition of "local
food only from Rongelap Island" (Note 1). However, the doses in fact had
been calculated by the Livermore team (Robison, 1982b) for the community
type B diet (Naidu et al, 1980). That diet involves the use of imported
foods brought in on a regular basis by supply ship to supplement local
produce. Without such imports, the doses would be higher.
DOE-1982 used the Livermore findings, but failed to utilize those of
Brookhaven National Laboratory. These included whole-body counting to
determine cesium-137, a method superior to that which calcultates dose
from the diet.
More recently, Brookhaven's results with the fission track method to
determine plutonium in urine, and from it the committed effective dose
equivalent, have yielded doses which disagree with those of the Lawrence

Livermore Laboratory based on diet..

This will be discussed.

23

Select target paragraph3