Average external gamma readings of the northern and southern Rongelap
islands were 5.8 and 0.7 mr/hr respectively. The fish caught off

Eniwetak Island (0.7 mr/hr external gamma) and Utirik Island (0.14 mr/hr
external gamma) contained the same average concentrationof internal
activity as the fish of the southern Rongelap lagoon.

Likiep fish

(0.04 mr/hr external gamma on the island) contained lower but still de-

tectable amounts of internal radioactive contamination. The total activity in the smaller fish (<150 g) was in general somewhat higher per unit
body weight than that of the large fish. Crabs, clams, and especially
snails were found to incorporate radionuclides to a much greater extent
per unit body weight than did the fish in the corresponding localities

(Table 4.3).

A number of tissue samples of marine specimens and of the rooster
were analyzed for the concentrations of individual radionuclides

(Table 4.5).

In muscle and viscera samples of the animais from Rongelap,

Utirik, and Rongerik, Sr*? contributes approximately 0.5 per cent of the
total beta activity. Sr?° is present in an approximately 1:1 ratio with
Sr®?_ Since the Hunter and Ballou calculations? indicate that Sr®? and Sr?
each contribute about 2 per cent of the total beta activity at one year
after fission, there does not appear to be any fractionation of radiostrontium into the soft tissues. As expected, most of the internally
deposited radioactivity was found in the skeleton.
Tissues of a few marine specimens*‘were analyzed for Cs}4? (37-year
half-life) since this nuclide was present in high concentrations in water
and coconut milk from this area, The tissues of the rooster and of the
coconut crab contain significant amounts of Cs'?’. A very high fraction
of Cs!" activity was noted in the muscle of the rooster (40 per cent of
the total beta). Further radioanalysis of marine specimens indicated
that the rare earth group constituted a few per cent of the total beta
activity. Ru!$_Rn% and Zr?®-Nb® contributed the largest percentage of
the total beta activity.

Comparison of the fish and clams collected at one year post-detonation with those collected at one month post-detonation and analyzed 4 months
post-detonation reveal the following differences. In the group collected
at one month the concentration of internally deposited fission products was
5 to 10 times that of the fish collected at one year. The residual activity
in the fish analyzed at 4 months post-detonation averaged 2.5 pc beta
activity (Co® equivalent) and the beta-to-gamma ratio was 1:2. In the current analyses, fish of comparable size had a beta activity of approximately
0.1 po and a beta-to-gamma ratio of 1:4. The largest fraction of the gross
beta activity in fish collected at one month was contributed by material in
the viscera and liver, Smaller but equal amounts of activity were found in
the muscle and skeleton in these fish. In the fish collected at one year
poSt-detonation, in contrast to the group collected earlier, about 50 per
cent of the activity was incorporated into the skeleton with only about 10

per cent found in muscle.

7

DOE ARCHIVE®

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