“ 56 Table 1. Exposures of Marshallese Populations Atoll Distance from Bikini No. of people Roneelap ~ 100 miles 6? Uurnik ~ 300 miles 158 Ailingae ~110 miles Amount of fallout Heavy (snow-like) 19 Moderate (mist-like) hat visible people. childrer Parado. nodules Dunn Estimated gamma douse 175 rad 69 rad develop 14 rad without of thyr who ha U/ml have tw Thez abnorm Utink 1 banum, and iodine. The significance of the radioiodine exposure was not fully appreciated at that time. When thyroid abnormalities began to appear, a re-evaluation of thyroid dose indicated an estimated dose of 335 rad to Rongelap adults and doses ranging from 700 to 1400 rad in the children exposed at Jess than 10 years of age. Lower doses were calculated for the other populations. The higher doses in the children were related to the smaller sizes of their thyroid glands. The largest followir component was '*!], but shorter-lived isotopes of iodine, particularly '*71, to the radiatio The first indication of thyroid trouble was the finding of growth the Md 133f and '35], contributed more than half the dose. Ona retardation in a number of exposed Rongelap children, and jater corte- exposu tion of the gland. Two boys developed frank myxedema. It was about this time 11964) that thyroid nodules began appearing. particularly in the exposed children. In subsequent years, the nodules continued to appear the Ma fatron with decreasing thyroid hormonelevels indicated decreased func- X irrad 337 an Utnk groups. Table 2 shows the numbers of subjects who have had thyroid nodules up to the present. The Rongelap and Ailingnae people are seen to have greatly increased numbers of nodules, both benign and malignant. and the Utirik group also appears to have increased numbers compared with the unexposed rate th: The exposu which neutror but ais which: Table 2. Table 3. in the Rongelap and Ailingnae group and, beginning about 1967, in the Thyroid Nodules Appearing from 1964 to 1979. Group Rongelap and Aslingnae ‘Total nodules 36.0% (135-1150 rads) (31/86) Utirik (30-95 rads) Unerposed Cancer 4.9% cr c 1a G: Rongelat (4/86) (135-11£ 9.5% (15/188) 1.9% (3/158) (30-95 +, 6.6% (29 (437) 0.9% (4/437) "The number of cancer cases is tentative since final diagnoses on same recent cases are pending. iU a Utirik Uneapes a Some o and nodi