94 WIELOPOLSKI, ADAMS, AND HEOTIS RED CELLS SERUM C1 K Fe Zn Br Rb ci 7h R - Rongelap . & + M- Mauro : ar | : N Y-New York a LL 2 5 : — . > — 4h . x 17 33h ‘ x .? Ww 2 r t : . . . 1 a5 4 et ° Bea . ' oe : . RMNY , aoe | ;-E Es FE : : * 2 ‘ : . Ld > bE Zn L. . +. : TF 73} ¢ - 3 RM NY RM + i * . ‘ + + ‘ NY RM N.Y . ‘ “tt, i ° R MNY. RM NY RM NY RM NY RM NY Fic. 2. Relative abundance of the elements presentin the red cells and the serum normalized by the mean value of the New York group. The mean serum Br levels in the Rongelap and Majuro groups were 96 and 51% higher, respectively, than that of the New York group. Meanred cell Br concentrations of the Marshallese were also elevated over that of the New Yorkers: 478% in the Rongelap group and 393% in the Majuro group. On the basis of the Wilcoxon rank sum test, the Rongelap serum Br level was significantly higher than that of the Majuro group (P < 0.02) which, in turn, was significantly higher than that of the New Yorkers (P < 0.01). The red cell Br levels of the two Marshallese groups were not significantly different from each other, but were significantly higher than that of the New Yorkers (P < 0.01). TABLE1 NORMALIZED GROUP MEAN VALUES FOR ELEMENTS ANALYZED BY ENERGY DISPERSIVE X-RAY FLUORESCENCE (EDXRF) Group element Rongelap Majuro New York Red cells Cl Normalization factor* 1,32 0.86 1.00 2,222 K Fe 1.22 1.03 1.06 1.03 1.00 1.00 23,379 463,955 Br 4.78 3,93 1.00 1.00 18,121 Cl 1.06 0.84 1.00 16,249 Zn 0.80 0.83 1.00 Zn Rb Serum Br 1.07 0.97 1.96 1.04 1.05 1.51 * The EDXRF mean peakintensity in the New York group. 1.00 1.00 16,903 3,296 2,108 23,971