ie a eoeie ee for individual members of the general public. committed effective dose equivalent ( The highest individual adult . 1.42107? Se (140 mreom) during the calendar year 1982. a -_ “ ID #1180) was estimated to be Aye upor l " ‘The validity of the Pu-239,240 data used to estimate the body burden at Rongelap Atoll in 1973 bad been considered previously by an ad boc comeittee of the nergy Research and Development Agency. The committee concluded that, because of the possibility of contamination of the urine and fecal samples, the data were uncertain. To determine the extent of sanple contamination and to estimate a background level of Pu'in these samples, urine and fecal samples were collected during the July 1982 ffeld trip from two groups of persons not iiving on contaminated atolls. The former Bikinians prowided sazples for these studies as did some current residents of Majuro Atoll. Collections at Rongelap will provide an estimate of body burden during 1981 amd 1982 and allow assessment of the effective dose equivalent aince rehabitation of the atoll in 1957. The long mean residence time of Pu-239,240 in the body will allow for asseasnent of effective dose equivalent to the former Bikini residents while living at Bikini Atoll based on the analysie of recently collected samples. The Ca-137 body burden of the former Bikini Atoll residents is now sta~ tistically indistinguishable from the canpariaon population walues obtained at Majuro Atoll (see Table Two). The former Bikini residents have the lovest Ca~-137 population body burden (see Graph Two) out of the four atoll populations currently under atudy. The increasing Ca-137 body burdens at Rongelap, Uririk and Poewetak imply that local phenonena influenced the elevation of Ca-137 in the diet. The observed decline in the former Bikinian body burdens Was anticipaced hased on the walue for the long-term biological turnover rate constant for Cs-137. 5 6 59 b -