-ho6- 13. PUBLICATIONS: 1. V. Noshkin, "Transuranium Radionuclides in Components of the Benthic Environment of Enewetak Atoll,'' prepared for DOE publication, Transuranic Elements in the Environment, W.C. Hanson, Ed. (1978). 2. K.W. Wong, G.S. Brown, and V.E. Noshkin, "A Rapid Procedure for Plutonium Separation in Large Volumes of Fresh and Saline Water by Manganese Dioxide Coprecipitation,'' J. Radioanal. Chem. 42, 7 (1978). 3. &.B. Spies, K.V. Marsh, and J. Colsher, 'Oynamics of Radionuclide Exchange in the Calcareous Algae, Halimeda,'' submitted to Liminol. and Oceano. (1978). 4, K.M. Wong, V.E. Noshkin, and T.A. Jokela, "Preconcentration of Plutonium Radionuclides from Natural Waters,'' prepared for presentation at Annual Plutonium Information Conference of the Nevada Applied Ecology Group, February 28 - March 2, 1978. THA, SCOPE ABSTRACT: The objective of this study is to develop an understanding of the transport rates and redistribution mechanisms of radionuclides (emphasizing the transuranium elements) in biogeochemical processes occurring at the Marshall Islands. We require this knowledge to develop recommendations for minimizing the passage of radionuclides to human populations, to evaluate the cycling of radionuclides through critical processes essential for the establishment and continuity of life at the atolls, to develop a fundamental data base from these contaminated environments that will be used to predict future transuranic impacts on the aquatic environment from different global sources (i.e., reactors, reprocessing facilities, and accidents), and to furnish data and recommendations to assist in providing usable sources of groundwater for future generations at the atoll. Because of the relatively high plutonium levels in the marine environments of Enewetak and Bikini, these locations are unique ecosystems from which reliable data can be generated on several processes that regulate the recycling and rate of movement of plutonium. Especially critical to these topics are some of our recent assessments that reveal that the atolis may be the only global locations where plutonium intake via ingestion (rather than. inhalation) contributes the major fraction of man's plutonium body burden, 148. SCOPE: The general objectives of this project are outlined above in the abstract. During FY 1978, the DBER-funded LCU for Marshall Island research activities supported our effort at Bikini during the period 11 to 29 November 1977. Eight man-weeks of effort were devoted to the . ; )