SLIDE 30
Absorption through skin. According to Glasstone (G162) fallout will enter the
body through the digestive tract, through the lungs, or through wounds or
abrasions. No direct absorption through skin is written about in JCAES7,
JCCRREF56, G162, Cr56 or Du56. Beta burns appeared on the skin of Rongelap
people many weeks after exposure. Skin was thought by us to be intact at the
t me of contamination. Harrison, {Ha63) megsured the extend to which gaseous
I, and aqueous sojytions of K’~
"I and
Ig were absorbed through human
§ in. For aqueous K°~°I the mean absorption rate was 7.8 x 10
h
and for
In
it was less.
Use of stable I carrier with the gas was found to irritate
and blistsr skin which may have led to, increased absorption reported for
gaseous
To (Ha63).,
activity of 110 MBq m*
Assuming Qel7 m 3f skin surface was exposed, a surface
(3.1 x 10~Aci m
“~) and 49 hours pf exposure at
Rongelap Island, leads us to egtimate 0.7 MBq (19 “Ci)
I intake based on
an absorption rate 7.8 x10 “h “. This was a conservative estimate since the
skin surface was not likely to be as contaminated as the ground surface due to
swimming, bathing and sloughing off of fallout granules. Assuming the urine
bioassay results (Ha54) were accurate, the conservative estimate of intake
through skin represent 20% of the total intake for
I.
About half the Rongelap adults had skin lesions on the scalp, neck and
feet 12 to 14 days post detonation. It was not likely, therefore, that all
adults had 10% of skin surface exposed to ground contamination levels
continuously, although it was
todine was in a solid calcium
transportable across the skin
by us that absorption through
assumed for the above estimate.
Also, the
carbonate matrix qyd was not likely to be as
as was aqueous K}
I.
Therefore, it was assumed
skin was not important.
ABSORPTION THROUGH SKIN
10%
Skin
* AqueousKI on skin surface.
13ly
Maximum
Absorption
Rate”
h?
Activity
MBqm”
Intake
M Bq
0.17
0.17
0.17
49
59
59
7.8x10"
7.8x107
7.8104
100
12
37
0.72
0.094
0.29
Exposed
m
Rongelap Adult Male
Utirik Adult Male
Sifo Adult Male
I
Surface
Hours
Exposed
Surface
iy