power for a 12 nonth period without needing
repairs.
Ia addition, vinad-
powered alectrical generators were virtually noiseless compared to zasoline
powered electrical generators.
Thev orfered the possibility of collecting a
larze volume air sample without disruption
rer ns on outer atolls.
2f quiescent village living dat-
<A plutonium excretion study was also undertaken by
collecting pooled large-volume urine samples
from three to five families at
eacn atoll exceot Kwajalein.
Early in 1977,
the question of the past dose equivalent to the Marshal-
lesa who have lived on Rongelap and Utirik, had become an important scientific
and nealth related question with considerable political overtones.
Borg,
Conard,
Cronkite, Greenhouse, Naidu and Meinhold,
Bond,
all members of 3NL,
and Sondhaus of the University of California, College of ‘Medicine (UCCM)
initiated technical evaluation of the issue.
FY_1978
MIRSP funding levels were $207,000 for operating and $10,000 for capital
equipment.
Staffing levels were 2.0 man years scientific and professional and
to
+3 aan years technical support.
oQ
t
ram's
orinciple staff,
Greenhouse and ‘filtenberger made up the pro-
Cua and Knight joined the program staff part time.
‘fajor equipment purchases consisted of peripheral alpha spectroscopy equioment
for plutonium anatyses of environmental and biological samples.
As a result
of earlier discussions by Bond, Meinhold, Naidu and others of 83NL,
a proposal
for Rongelap and Utirik Dose Reassessment (RUDR) had been forwarded to the De-
partment of Energy's Division of Biological and Environmental Research
(DOLDBER formerly ERDADBER) and the program was funded with an operational
budyear of 259,000.
sional,
Staffing levels were 0.5 man vears scientific and profes-
Naidu and Greenhouse were the RUDR program's primary staff.