service personnel on the island of Rongerik, as a result of the March 1, 1954 fallout. Also, four service men in charge of handling "hot" filters from monitoring aircraft at the Pacific Testing Site in I948 received severe beta burns on the hands. One additional case was an Air Force officer in charge of transportation of radioactive samples from the Pacific Proving Ground to the United States in 1951. developed on his forehead and right eyebrow region. A lesion The damaged area showed normal repair processes but the previouslyblack hair of the eyebrow was replaced by white hair upon regrowth. . There have been no known cases of human beta burns at oy around the Nevada Test Site. Evaluation Serious skin damage can result if highly radioactive fallout remains in direct contact with the skin. (Simple measures such as wash- ing can be very effective in reducing this hazard - the sooner the better). Skin damage has not been observed except in those regions where the amount of fallout was high, i.e., possibly over 75 roentgens whole body dose from the gamma radiation. Thus, the potential hazard of skin burns may be essentially eliminated by meeting the criteria of an acceptable whole body exposure. Of course, by evacuation from a highly contaminated area it is possible to reduce drastically whole body exposure, yet a relatively high skin dose could accumulate if the fallout materials were not removed early. 13. on: