MEDICAL SURVEY OF RONGELAP PEOPLE FIVE AND SIX YEARS AFTER EXPOSURE TO FALLOUT Introduction The results of medical surveys of the people of Rongelap in the Marshall Islands, carried out in March 1959 and in March 1960 at 5 and 6 years after the accident, are presented in this report. tion. Because Rongelap Atoll was considered to be too highly contaminated, a temporaryvillage was constructed for the Rongelap people on Majuro Atoll several hundred miles to the south, where they lived for the following 342 years and were examined at yearly intervals by a special medical yield thermonuclear device during experimentsat Bikini in the Pacific Proving Grounds in March 1954. An unpredicted shift in winds caused a team. In July 1957, after careful evaluation of the radioactive contamination situation, Rongelap Island was considered safe for habitation. A new village was constructed, and the Rongelap people were moved there by Navy ship. The annual med- inhabited Marshall Islands to the east of Bikini lap Island. These people had been accidentally exposed to fallout radiation following a detonation of a high deposition of significant amountsoffallout on four (see Figure 1) and also on 23 Japanese fishermen aboardtheir fishing vessel, the Lucky Dragon. Of the inhabitants of the island of Rongelap, 105 nautical miles away from the detonation, 64 re- ceived the largest fallout exposure: an estimated dose of 175 r of whole-body gammaradiation, contamination of the skin sufficient to result in beta burns, andslight internal absorption ofradioactive materials through inhalation andingestion. Another 18 Rongelap people away on a nearby island (Ailingnae), whereless fallout occurred, received only an external gammadoseof about 69 r. There were 28 American servicemen ontheisland of Rongerik further to the east who received about the same amountof radiation as did the Rongelap people on Ailingnae. Lastly, 157 Marshallese on Utirik Island, about 200 miles furthereast, received _ about an estimated 14 r of whole-body radiation. The fallout was notvisible on this island and no skin effects developed. The exposed people were evacuated from these islands by plane and ship about twodaysafter the accident and taken to Kwajalein Naval Base ical surveys have since been carried out on RongeA group of more than 100 Rongelap people, whowererelatives of the exposed people but had been awayfrom theisland at the timeofthe acci- dent, moved back with the Rongelap people to their home island and have served as an ideal comparison population for the studies. Following the initial survey of the Utirik people on Kwajalein in 1954, a repeat survey was carried outin March 1957. In addition, during the past survey, as in the previous surveys, a visit was made to Majuro Atoll to examine a groupof children who represent part of the control group used for the growth and developmentstudies of the exposed children. . 500 F200 6 pase RONGERIK” Bet oe ? BSceL ap _ > AILINGINAE - 7 ; - ° BUTIRIK 7 _ - (SUTIRIK Q. ~ oO S\owaaen - - - Q Q about 150 miles to the south, where they received extensive examinations for the following three months. In view of the generally negative findings on the American servicemen, they were laterre- turned to their duty stations. The Utirik people were also allowed to return to their homeisland, cD ot Oo) cr Co cD cn where radioactive contamination was considered to be of a slight enough extent to allow safe habita- ° Lo Q MAJUROSS Figure 1. Map of fallout area (March 1, 1954), Marshall Islands.