medical team. Basea on preliminary surveys, we did not expect that there would be overexposure of the people to radiation from the environment. However, our objective was to continuously monitor the people. so that if there was any indication of exposures higher than expected, appropriate corrective steps could be taken. Since gamma radiation had decayed to an acceptable low level, the most important determinations concerned the amounts anddistribution in the body of internally absorbed - radioactive elements from water, foods grown on the island, and marine life, particularlyfish. Radiochemicai analyses of urine and direct measurementof radiation from the individual were used to determine the amountof absorbed radioactive elements. Studies of the dietary habits of the Marsnallese permitted indirect assessment of the amounts of radioactive ele- ments likely to be absorbed from consumption of water and food. Individual and pooled radio- chemical urine analyses were done at various laboratories in the United States. ** Aboutthis time (1957), a relatively new method of determining the amount and type of gamma-emitting elements in an individual was Steel room weighing 21 tons built at Brookhaven being used at Argonne Nationai Laboratory in National Laboratory being used for measurement Chicago. Gammaradiation was measured using of radiation in the Marshallese people. a sensitive crystal-electronic setup ina steel room shielded to redy To test thepotential of md UF isd it © a the Marshall. Istands,:we'arra ngseelaanie ee Argonne to:measurefouyF had not yetretysned talive, ishgnd) andtwo-menHivingigt: gme(y EF “ results showed that low levelsof rac ef elements could be easily identified and mea- — sured and were well within the permissible range. The two men from Utirik had radioactive zinc in their bodies which was later found to have come from eating contaminatedfish. (B-26). Since this method of measurement seemed feasible for our studies, a 21-ton steel room was constructed at BNL and shippedto the Marshall Islands. The Marshallese on Rongelap were first measured for radiation in 1958, in the newsteel room which had been placed on the tank deckof Te & “From these analyses. it was possibie to estimate the body burdens of the radioactive elements. Analysis for plutonium proved more troublesome, butlater techniques permitted more reliable analysis for chia eiement 1 the umne and esumatian of body ee 30 SOO4I BI ne 543 active? pear:2 agiauteatseal ebentiind d toi.The” ~ weaebnatdered enores Largmethiod the body burdens of gamma-emittingisotopes. Unfortunately, before this survey could be ana- lyzed, a plane carrying the data to the United States experienced difficulties and jettisoned the cargo, among which were boxes with our data. A secondsurvey was carried out by three of us from Brookhaven. The survey wasfraught with difficulties. When wearrived in Enewetak, we transferred the steel room and equipment to a Navy LCU.During this time, a nuclear device was tested. Our LCU was transferred to Rongelap on a dry-dock ship, where we discovered thas due to contgmaination at Enewetak vel of radiation on.the LCU was too high for a¢curate measurements. Stil] worse, the déck beneath the stee} room had been painted with non-#kid paint which included radioactive sand from Enewetak. However, using a paint remover and with generous wasb-