Table 14. Annual effective dose from natural background in the United States.2 Source of radiation Effective dose mSv (mrem) Cosmic radiation - 0.27 (27) Cosmogenic radionuclides Terrestrial radiation Inhaled radionuclides (radon) Radionuclides in the body Total a Data from NCRP (1987a). Marshall Islands. 0.01 (1) 0.28 (28) 2 (200) 0.40 (40) 3 (300) Thus, most of the natural background in the Marshall Isiands is due to external cosmic radiation and internal dose from naturally occurring radionuclides in local foods. The external dose from terrestrial radiation is in local fresh and imported f ingestion of these radionuclides, a the quantities of different foods annual effective dose as well) of[2.0 mSv y—! (200 mrem y-!). Unlike the majority of dose from man-made radionuclides, which is Herived from 137Cs associated with terrestrial fogds, 87% and 74% of 210Po and 219Pp, respectivelf, in the total diet is derived from the local afd imported aquatic foods, including seabirds] A detailed report on the 210Po and 219Pb congpntrations in Marshallese foods and the resultihg dose rate calculations can be found in Ndshkin et. al (1993). -Radiation dose guidelines arq established without the inclusion of natural fbackground very low. dose at Rongelap Island of (26 mrem y-!) is 26% of the current 0.22 mSv y-? (22 mrem y-!) (USAEC 1973; recommended by the NCRP and 1987b; ICRP, 1990). The effective dose rate from cosmic radiation in the Marshall Islands is about Gudiksen et al., 1976). An additional 0.18 mSv Table 15. Adopted guidelines for the general public, natural background doses in the Unitgd States and Marshail Islands, and estimated doses from man-madesources at Rongelap Island. Population average effective dose rate mSv y~! (Inrem y-) Adopted annual guideline 1 (100) Rongelap Island: man-made sources 0.26 (26) U.S. natural background - 3 (300) Marshall Island natural background Cosmic 0.22 (22) Terrestrial 210Po9 (diet) 40K (diet) 210Pb (diet) 2.4 (240) 0.01 (1) 0.01 (1) 1.8 (180) 0.18 (18) 0.20(20) Rongelap Island: natural background plus man-made sources 2.66 (266) US. 30-y integral dose guideline | 0.05 Sv> (5 rem>) Rongelap: man-madesources (30-y integral dose) 0.0059 (0.59 rem) a The source of these estimated doses are discussed in Noshkin et al. (1993). b Whole-body equivalent dose. 32