ae ae a
40
12
ion
«(cs'37
4
it
2
NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS IN GROUP
MALE
--~ 8-15 YRS
— >I6 YRS
*
K
lO
14
18
mpc/kg
22+
cof?
8
--
Pee
at eel Loe
i,
pn
|
- |
oh
Oo
MALE
---5-15¥RS
—— > IGYRS
4
FEMALE
--- 5-15 YRS
— > 16YRS
4
18 22 26+
gm /kg
RESIOUSL GAMMA ACTIVITY
[|
Do
r
GAMMA EMITTING RADIONUCLIDES
IN RONGELA.’ POPULATION
MARCH, I96!.
|
GL
muc/khg
6
FEMALE
~-- 5-18 YRS
— >i6YRS
8
14
1B
mpc/kg
22+
er
iO
14
1B
22
myc’ kg
18 22 26+
gm / kg
A
7
:
--
:
ra
y
Le
9
mr
|
|
i
:
|
a
4
12
I
:
1|
|
a
I
cpap bi
an
pees
20 28+
cém/ kg
4
$12
20
..|
28+
cémskg
Figure 57. Frequencydistribution of levels of radionuclides in various Marshallese groups.
cally significant. Also, females tend to have values
lower than those found in the corresponding male
group (Figure 57). No significant difference between the Zn"* concentrations in the exposed and
unexposed groups could be determined. The percent variation within each group was approximately the sameasin the case of Cs'*’.
Potassium-40
The mean K concentrations for the younger
groups were consistently higher than those for the
corresponding adult groups. The male adult group
averaged 2.13 g/kg body weight and the female
adult group 1.63.
Total Residual Gamma Activity
The total residual gammaactivitylevels present
after subtraction of the above four spectra are also
shown in Table 17. The activity in cpm/kg has no
absolute significance, but is of value in indicating,
first, that there is some activityleft, and, second,
the natureofits distribution by groups. Members
of the adult group have considerably higher levels
of residual activity per unit body weight than do
membersof the juvenile group. Nosignificantdifferences were observed, however, on the basis of
sex, or between the exposed and nonexposed
groups.
Cobalt-60
Radiochemical Analysis for Strontium-90
Analyses of the residual spectra obtained after
subtraction of the three above-mentioned photopeaks revealed the presence of a fourth photopeak,
Co®°. The levels of Co®® were quite low (mean
The estimated 1961 Sr®*° meanurinary excretion
in the Rongelap inhabitants was 7.2+ 0.4 puC/;
this represents a 14% increase over the 1959 value
(6.3 uuC/1l). This value is based on theresults of
=0.148 muC/kg), but were nevertheless readily
analysis of a pooled 20.8-liter sample collected
from the adult population (see Table 18). This Sr®°
or on the basis of age or sex, were observed.
calcium is 50.63.9 puC/g Ca. These values give
detectible. No significant differences between the
Co*® levels in the exposed and unexposed groups,
urinary excretion expressed in termsof urinary