{
Nelson.
C:
At Rongelap and Utirik samples were vathered to attempt to correlate
radiation levels in soil with adjacent fruit trees (pandanus, coconut, breadfruit) and arrowroot, messerschmidia, scaveola plants for a possible extrapolation purposes at Bikini and Eniwetak where vegetation samples are limited,
Other samples collected included 24-hour urine samples, water, coconut crabs
and certain marine specimens.
It will be some time before radiochemical analyses
of these samples is completed and the data analyzed.
Gamma spectrographic analysis
(whole-body counts) were carried out on 22
people at Utirik, 46 at Rongelap and 31 people at Bikini, including members of
the families who had returned.
These data are undergoing computer analysis.
Preliminary analysis of these data give the following eStimated average body
burdens of !37¢g:
MALES
No.
Bikini
18
Utirik
Rongelao
U.S. Medical
*
Body burden
0.129
9
9.262
6
0.0021
22
Team
mCi
0.475
FEMALES
% MPC
*
4.3
8.7
15.8
|
Ci
|
No.
Body burden
|
13
0.133
i
0.07
13
24
0.073
0.317
MP C
te
2.6
4.4
10.6
Using 3 »Ci MPC-based on the standard 1/10 of the maximum permissible burden
for industrial populations which is 30 bCi according to the Recommendations
of the International Commission on Radiological Protection, ICRP Public.2
(L959).
A gamma survey was carried out on Bikini Island using a scintillation type
survey meter calibrated for !37cs which respresents about 95% of the gamma radiation on the island. Preliminary analyses showed roughly the following levels on
the island:
A.
Village
(Living area)
Iaside cement houses with coral
covered yards
2.38
Outside cement houses with coral
covered yards
3.95
Inside cement houses without yard
covered coral
Outside cement houses without yard
covered coral
B.
Average UR/hr.
2.98
9.44
Along village road
13.1
Interior-coconut groves
41.6