Cese-equivalent commitment is a function of body mass and radionuclide raAbsorbed fractions ere di th tt moval rata constants. and thus also erfect the dose. Consequently, arant for the adult and child it should not be surprising, thac for equal body burdens, a child may receive a difference dose or dose race than an adult due to different values rate constants. for Dody mass, absorbed fractions and removal The higher daily activity ingestion rate was mot anticipated de- cause it requires the infant to consume more 13765 activity than that ingested by the adults and/or to consume substantially larger quantities of food. Information concerning diet and living style patterns observed in the Marshall Islands from the mid 1950's to the present (Na&l, Sn57, Mu54) indicates two possible sources of 137 C3 in the infant diet: human milk and coconut products. This report examines the dose-equivalent, dose-equivalent vate, and 137 . . - . -_- oy: te Cs Dodv burden for a hypothetical infant residing on 3ikini Atoll from 1 September 1977 to 31 August 1978 whose principle diet consisted of these sources of 137, s. Dosimetric projections were determined from human milk collected dur- ing May 1979, and from coconut tree sap and coconucs collected in April 1978. A . . concentration factor relating adult female 137_ i, Cs body burdens to 137 - Cs activity concentrations in human milk has been determined and is reported along with the dosimetric information. Limited coconut product samples from the Bikini Island camp area were collected in April 1978 (Figure 1). These samples have been analyzed but consti- . . 137 . tute a sample size large enough to accurately estimate the true mean Cs activity concentration with only 70% confidence. Addicional sampling of this food source and an assessment of the quantity that an infant typically ingests are hm questions to be addressed in future field trips.

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