BUC x4 959
med WO. 2320
Upton, L. 1, New York
4018441
Blood Bromine Levels in a Pacific Atoll! Population’
LUCIAN WIELOPOLSKI, WILLIAM H. ADAMS, AND PETER M. HEOTIS
Brookhaven National Laboratory, Medical Research Center, Upton, New York 11973
Received December 2, 1984
Serum andred cells from 20 Marshallese on twoatolls and from 10 subjects in New York
were compared for their elemental composition employing an energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence technique. The elements analyzed in serum included Cl, Zn, and Br, whereas red
- cells were analyzed for Cl. K, Fe, Zn, Br, and Rb. Both Marshallese groups showedstatistically significant (P < 0.01) elevations in serum Br (51 and 96%) and in red cell Br (393 and
478%) as compared to the New York group. The Marshallese Br/C] ratio in serum andin red
cells was elevated when comparedto that of the New York group, whereas the Rb/K ratios
were equivalent. The red cell Br/serum Brratio was also elevated in the Marshallese subjects. There were no similar differences noted among the other elements tested. Drinking
liquids in the Marshall Islands were analyzed for Br but did not provide a clear source for
the elevated Br levels. © 1986 Academic Press, Inc.
INTRODUCTION
Blood Br levels measured in several populations have been found to be similar
(1-6). Although Br is not considered to be an essential trace element (7), its
normal distribution in tissue is similar to the distribution of essential trace ele-
UNLABELED
ments(8, 9).
A recent study of the elemental composition of serum andred cells in a group
of 20 individuals from the mid-Pacific Republic of the Marshall Islands and 10
New Yorkers revealed that Br was singularly elevated in the Marshallese group.
The investigation used the technique of energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence
(EDXRF). This report presents details of the elemental measurements of serum
FOLDER
and red cells together with water samples taken from different locations.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS
Subjects. Thirty adults undergoing routine medical examinations were evaluated. Ten individuals were employees of Brookhaven National Laboratory, Long
Island, New York. Twenty individuals were inhabitants of the Republic of the
*
Marshall islands. Of the latter, 10 lived on the remote atoll of Rongelap and 10
lived on Majuro atoll, location of the capital of the Republic and a well-populated
district center. All groups were approximately age-matched and had a similar
number of males and females. The Marshallese subjects receive periodic medical
examinations and health care through a long-established program carried out by
the Medical Department of Brookhaven National Laboratory. The purpose of the
program is to diagnose andtreat radiation-related illness resulting from accidental
1 Research carried out under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract
DE-AC02-76Ch00016.
91
0013-9351/86 $3.00
Copyright © 1986 by Academic Press, Inc.
All rights of reproduction in any form reserved.
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ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 41, 91-98 (£986)