SLIDE 5
Whole-body dose estimates.
On Rongerik Atoll, a military outpost, a set of
film badges were present and readings were obtained (S055). Monitoring

instrument readings and the film badge results led Sondhaus to postulate total
gamma exposures, from the tipe fallout began up to the time of evacuation, of
0.027, 0.022 and 0.018 C kg
(106, 86 and 70 R) based on three assumed
fallout durations of 8, 12 and 16 hours, respectively.
One film badge
remained outdoors at _Rongerik from the time of fallout to evacuation and

recorded 0.025 C kg! (98 R).

The values for whole-body dose estimated by Dunning, Sondhaus and those

estimated by Lessard who used fallout composition studies, are in reasonable
agreement.

These last two approaches were different from each other in that

Sondhaus derived the estimate of whole-body dose from actual measurements of

total exposure (film badges at Rongerik) and exposure rate, while the estimate
by Lessard depended upon measurements of the composition of fallout, living

pattern corrections, and exposure rate measurements made by survey teams
during evacuation efforts.

The approach used by Peterson depended on upper-

air wind level patterns and the fallout was estimated by him to drift ina

southerly fashion.
This was not in agreement with assumptions used in three
previous and independent approaches (Ha79).
The Peterson results for wholebody dose were, therefore, radically different from other estimates for
persons located at Rongerik and Utirik and do not coincide with measured

values for exposure and exposure rate (Sh57).

It was not clear which exposure rate measurements were accepted by
Peterson for normalizing his meteorology based results. It is clear that he
accepted one measurement at some location.

He may have purposely overlooked

measured exposure rates in deference to upper-air wind patterns (Pe81).

ESTIMATES OF WHOLE-BODY ABSORBED DOSE
Grays
Location

1955

1957

of People

Sondhaus

Dunning

Rongelap
Ailingnae

1.75
0.69

1.70
0.75

Utirik
Rongerik

0.14
0.78

0.15
~

‘

1981

Peterson
1.10
0.24

0.0033
3.4

1984

Lessard
1.9
1.1

0.11
0.81

IGSt

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