Radionuclide Intake Diet Wewill first discuss the adult diet model currently used in our dose assessments because the fetus and infant dose will be dependent on the intake of radionuclides by the mother. Adult (2 18 y) The estimated average intake of local foods, i.e., those grown on the atoll, and imported foods, i.e., those brought in from outside the contaminated atoll, is a very important parameter in the dose assessment; radiological dose is directly proportional to the total intake of 137Cs and 9°Sr, which is proportional to the quantity of locally grown foods that are consumed at a contaminated atoll. Therefore, a reasonable estimate of the average daily consumption rate of each food item is essential. There is in general, however, a paucity of data available to develop a diet model at the atolls. The diet model we use for estimating the intake of local and imported foods is presented in Robison et al. (1980 and 1987). The model results for the case where imported foods are available are summarized in Table 1. The basis of this diet model wasthe survey of the Ujelang community in 1978 by the Micronesian Legal “Services Corporation (MLSC) staff and the Marshallese school teacher on Ujelang; details of the MLSC diet summaryare presented in our 1980 dose-assessment paper (Robison et al., 1980). This survey is the best estimate of the current dietary practices of the Enewetak people. Data are presented for women, men, teenagers, and children. Adult intake exceeded those of teenagers and children, and the intake of local food was about 20% greater for women than for men. The higher intake attributed to women is unexplained, and certainly questionable. It is, however, indicative of the acknowledged uncertainty in the dietary 9080157 estimates. Nevertheless, we believe that the MLSC survey provides a reasonable basis for estimating dietary intake. Pending the availability of empirical data, we have chosen to use the higher (female) diet for our diet model, rather than attempt further speculative refinement. ’ Our choice of this diet model is supported by other considerations. The estimated intake of coconut is higher in the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) diet than in our diet model (Naidu et al., 1980); this difference arises in part from the fact that the BNL estimates were for food prepared rather than for food actually consumed. A more detailed comparison of the Ujelang diet survey with higher dietary intakes estimated by the BNLis also discussed in the 1980 report (Robison et al., 1980). When the estimated body burdens from both our dose model using the MLSC diet and the BNL diet are compared to actual whole-body measurements of the Rongelap and Utirik people made by another BNL team, the MLSC diet predicted observed body burdens better than the BNL diet (Robison, 1983; Robison et al., 1987). In fact, predictions of body burdens and doses using our diet model are very close to the whole-body measurements of the population, as is illustrated in Table 2. Further support of our diet model is found in the estimates of coconut consumption. The coconut, at many stages of growth, is the food product that is of major significance and dominates the potential exposure of people. The current estimate of consumption of coconut meat and fluid in our diet model, which is about 1 to 1.5 coconuts per day per person averaged over a year, is consistent with estimates of an average of 0.5 and 1.0 coconuts per day per person made by two Marshallese officials with considerable experience on living habits at outer atolls (DeBrum, 1985). Based on data published by Mary Muari in 1954, the average intake of