RMI Nuclear Justice Documents

RESULTS
RADIONUCLIDE CONCENTRATIONS IN FISH AND CLAMS

The radionuclide concentration data presented here are abstracted from a
detailed report on the radionuclide concentrations in reef and pelagic fish in
the Northern Marshall Islands.’
radionuclide
Table

3

concentration

the average

in

Summarized in Table 2 is the average muscle
various

fish

from

each

radionuclide concentrations

atoll

for clams

or
are

island.

In

listed.

The

average radionuclide concentrations for fish and clams are used in conjunction

with the average daily intake of each, the average biological residence times,
and the fractional depositions to calculate the maximum annual dose rates and
30-y integral doses.
MAXIMUM ANNUAL DOSE RATES AND 30-Y INTEGRAL DOSES FROM THE MARINE PATHWAY

The maximum annual dose rate for the whole body is defined as the dose
.

rate

in

that

maximum.
1370,

year

when

For bone marrow

and

905,

is

the
it

.

whole-body
is

a maximum.

when

Because

.

ingestion

the
of

the continuously decreasing dose after the

dose

bone-marrow
the

dose

ingestion

buildup

first year

7

from

for

from

78,

Cs

dose

from

90,
the

and

bone-

marrow maximum annual dose rate can occur in a different year than the wholebody maximum annual dose rate.

The maximum annual dose rates at each atoll or island are
Table 4.

Dose rates are presented

from

0.028

bone-marrow dose

mrem/y
rates

at

range

in

for both whole body and bone marrow and

both are similar for most of the atolls or islands.
range

listed

Mejit

to

about

The whole-body dose rates

0.1 mrem/y

from 0.029 mrem/y at Mejit

at

Rongelap.

The

to 0.12 mrem/y

at

Rongelap.

For perspective, these maximum annual dose rates can be compared to the
current United States Federal guidelines

for whole

body

and

bone marrow of

500 mrem/y for an individual and 170 mrem/y for a population average.
The dose commitment, or 30-y integral doses,
for fish and clams respectively.
0.00063 to 0.0022 rem and

is listed in Tables 5 and 6

The whole-body doses

the bone-marrow doses

from fish range

from 0.00065

to 0.0032 rem.

The whole-body doses from clams are on the average about 0.5% of those
fish

and,

except

at

Rongelap,

the

bone-marrow doses

10

are

about

from

10%

of

from
those