| z \ . ’ . --. . : : ~ a “4 . . . . Voy Ny wee a dN : NaN IS TT mmof eer a Na er ke a - _— f/ y aru ety C4 ce me ep em om em ne weet ee ee eee Lames wet ee UNIV ESS, A UPTON, NEW YORK 11973 AOS SS meee PUSLIC RELATIONS OF F, CE pe FOR-RSLEASE: - sriawy;GMey 21, 1968 CONTACT: Tel: (516) 924-6262 Ext: 435 Norb Dernbach cr,BB 20 cation ROOXEAVEN TEAM Coliectioa é . AS eo ATeo ; L AUUR AUST 7A eer am _ _—- REPORTS ON 1968 EXAMINATION OF MARSHALLESE EXPOSED TO FALLOUT IN 1554 FolderPrey = pun <J —_— £ : - . Upton, N.Y., May z4, 1968--Dr. Robert A. Conard (MD), head of the Brooxhaven National Laocoratory mecical team that conaucts the annual examination of the Marsnail Isiancers who were exposed to failout from a 1954 Bixini bomb test, reported two new cases or thyroid abnormalities (in the form of nodules) in the group who weré uncer ten years of age when exposed on Rongelap, the atoll nearest the test Site. Tacre were i9 children uncer ten exposed to the fallout, of which 17 nave now Gevelioped thyroid nodules. These patients are currentiy 15 to 24 years old. fn unexpecced wind shift during the 1954 test carried the fallout from Bikini pb earest and most heavily exposed were 64 Marshailese at Rongelap. i< tT ri poSure. 4 ew om La} ne rd * ao eyo . 7 ~-m4 ania by! oO bia Qf ct the western enc oi the Marsnall Islands back over severai islands located east Shallese at Ailingnae and 157 at Ucirik receiving a much lesser ex- Wnese people are examined on a reguiar schecule. To provide a comparison wita the exposed populace, a control group of 194 unexposed Marshallese is also examined, but on a less frequent schedule. ane selection of age 10 at the time of fallout exposure as a group designation cid not occur until a few years ago, and was done primarily as the result of a fn tatisticai observation. According to Dr. Conard, the reason these children show- ci) dg a higher incidence of thyroid abnormalities is probably because their thyroid gianas weve smaiier and received a larger comparative radiation dose. The estimated dose to the thyroid in the 19 children uncer 10 years of age on Rongelap was from 875 to 1575 rads, with 90 percent of them developing thyroia lities. For the 45 Rongelap people greater than 10 years of age at exposure time, the thyroid dose was estimated at 335 rads, with 5.5 percent developing thyroid abnormalities. Six children under 10 years of age on Ailingnae and 40 children on Utirix received thyroid doses from 230 to 725 rads, with no develop- The w ee * The exposec aduit population had a much lower incicence om kt rt t4 fi Oo fh @ rm Qo ¢ oO "i rt mh oO he ment of any adnormalities. term rac means racGiation — ebsorbed — cose. <A Gose of one rad means the ab- Sorption of i00 ergs of raciation energy per gram of adsorbing Materia.. Cop; LAN ©D/D0g fom area \ BEST COPY AVAILABLE ¢v