I218 Annals of Internal Medicine NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH CLINICAL STAFF Dr. RALL: For iodine I do not thinkit RaDIOIODINE FALLOUT AND Its Bevgcts IN much tellurium or iodine occurring natu- Dr. ier A. Ao: Before“¥go into makes much difference because there is not rally. The main factor would be just an enormous amountof material on which it can condense and be deposited rapidly. For elements like sodium with great natural abundance and that can be produced by neutrons of varying energies, it does make a big difference. THE MARSHALL Isbayps to review’very briefly the: # and some of the acute early“effects that oc- curred in the Marshallese people. A large thermonuclear device was detonated on the Bikini Island on Magrch 1, 1954. As Dr. Rall Dr. Rossins: If there are no further questions we will go on with the second part of our discussion and hear something about the events as they occurred in the Marshall Islands. I am happy to introduce pointed out, this bomb exploded close to tist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N. Y. Dr. Conard was a member of the Naval Medical Research Institute This radid&@tive material, because it was heavier,fell from the cloud in a downwind directidh, comaminating severalinhabited to you Dr. Robert A. Conard, Senior Scien- in Bethesda in 1954 and was one of the key members of the team that was formed hur- riedly to cope with the unfortunate occurrence in the Pacific Islands. In the years since then Dr. Conard has organized annual expeditions to the Islands and thus was on the scene when thelate effects of the radiation became manifest. the surface of the earth so that the fireball touched the earth and the ocean drawing up tremendames unts of particulate material into the.¢ and:this material--became mixed with the radioactive fissior®Products. atolls to the @ast. Figure 2 shows a.rough map of the Marshall Islands and the are’ invélwed in the fallout. On Rongelap Is- land; 106Mfrom” ing, the fallout re- sembled a light snow and actually coated the ground and the trees and became deposited on the skin and on the hair of the people. The fallout was less dense the fur- _QSUTIRIK _ Q _ oe oO <\ynnem oo? N MARSHALL ISLANDS L Q ° MAJURO S FicurE 2. Map of fallout area, Marshall Islands, March 1954. )