June 23, 1980
_ Comments on Report:
Assessment of Radiation Health Effects
of the Resettlement of Enewetak Atoll Prepared by
M. A. Bender and A. B. Brill
by
Karl Z. Morgan
School of Nuclear Engineering
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia 30332
The following are a few brief comments on this report by M. A. Bender
and A. B. Brill dated October 12, 1979:
1.
In general, this is an excellent report.
The
report
accepts
the
dose measurements
of Robinson et al.
(1979) without providing the reader with any of the pertinent information needed so that he can judge its adequacy.
For example, there
is no breakdown of the dose between that which is external and that
which is
internal.
There
is no indication whether internal dose
values include a contribution from the actinide alpha-emitters, yet
one would expect that some of the islands have appreciable quantities
of 23954,
It is not stated, but I assume their dose values are almost
entirely from 90 “Sr + 90, and 137 Cs plus 239, u. I would expect the'
ntribution from other radionuclides to be negligible.
3.)
It seems odd that values are given only for total body dose.
ince, as stated above, the dose is mostly from 905, + 90, 137 Cs and
239 pu, one would expect the external dose to be primarily beta-dose
90 Sr an a 20Y are pure beta-emitters and 137 Cs is a strong beta
because
and x-ray emitter.
One wonders if the beta bremstrahlung dose was
“included with the total body dose.
4.)
What would their estimate be on the skin cancer induction from
«this skin dose.
UNSCEAR gives a wide variation of skin cancer co-
efficients of 2 x 10°’ to 1.8 x 10°> skin cancers per person rem.
I
doubt these values apply here, however, because some of the betaradiation in this case has high energy and can penetrate } cm into