TASK TITLE ‘BUDGET AND REPORTING ISDE . SATE 2REPARED Jose Reassessuient for Rongelap anc Veirik | CONTRACTOR NAME /SCDE L9a. Associated Universities. Inc. Facility Recuiracents / GK-91202-9L-1-"8) (003010) , 3NL 3IN NUMBER | ; TASK NO. 04/92/79 ; REV. OC. 0 icipated tnat work for this proposal will use existing Labora- L9c. Purpose. To look for correlations secwaen the incidence of chyroid nodules in she snhabitancts of Rongelap and Utirik Islands (Marshall Islands) and the reassessec dose estimates. This study will fuse cogether all available information on fallout from the 3RAVO test and using advanced analiveical techniques (now available) cderive realistic ¢ose ascinates 29 the inhabitants of Rongelap and Uttrik. The rte- suits should sroviae information towards alucidating the whole question or Low= level erfeccs ¢f vraciacion. ~9d, Jackzround. incidence of thvrcid nodules, benign and malignant, in the exposed populations of Urcirix and Rongelap nas indicaced critical differences in corvtespon= dence between nodule incidence and thyroid dose for the populactons. The estimated external dose received from =the cime fallout began to the time of avacuation shows that che Rongelap population received an external dose (175 tads) which was abouc 13 cimes chac for the Utirik popularion (14 rads), and she thyroid dese was about 10 times larger, whereas the incidence of thyroid nodules in the two sopulations were not significantly different. A preliminary study has iadicaced thac the critical area of invescization that could shed Lizhe is the period during the fallout and evacuacion for boch che islands. In addition, the face thac the Ucirik population returned within 120 days following evacuacion, whereas the Rongelap copulation returned only after three years, requires cthae we Lcok closely ac the Utirik papulaticon ia tarms of a lenger exposure period, born incernal and external. fFurcher studies would, therefore, have to concentrate on the re-examination of all available data in reports issued bv various agencies during thac period, consultations with seientific personnel involved ac thac time, ideneifying the areas of uncertainty, and using appropriate computer sroegrams co analyze the data. The end result will enable us to look for correlations berween the incidence of thyroid nodules and che raassessed dosa estimatas. GR. 103