13
dropped about 23% in the exposed population.
However, the present controls had counts about
the unexposedlevels for both age groups (Table
$
PLATELETS x10*
equally below those of last year’s control group.
The numbers of lymphocytes are slightly below
-§ ‘.
*
#
MEAN COUNTS
(NON - EXPOSED)
~
e
—
6 and Figure 9). Figure 10 shows a greaterdistribution of counts below the mean controllevel.
The cumulative distribution curve (Figure 11)
°
23
@.
e
®
?
20-
.
a
shows the exposed countsto be still slightly displaced to theleft of the unexposed counts. In the
exposed group three people had absolute lymphocyte counts of less than 1500, compared to onein
the unexposed group. There was slight drop in
the mean lymphocyte count this year compared
with last year’s (about 13%), but the count in this
year’s control population was similarly below that
of last year’s control population.
e
é
*-e
+
1§ joes
—_
*
os
Op
Let
0
1d
td
72
—lUMMlCtC
—
dT
HOC
aS
AGE (YR)
O88
Figure 13. Platelets three vears post-exposure,
Rongelap males.
'
J
i
T
T
t
I
q
e
4s
40 +
PLATELETS x 1074
i
4
os
.
33
Ls
°
4
3 YR CONTROL
(RONGELAP NON-EXPOSED)
°
*
25 bh
e
:
° e
.
=
e
20
e
e
—
.
.
—
5k
ior
o
7
Ld
0 2
Ls
% 4
L
50
80
AGE ( ¥ a)
7
Lt
8 90
Figure 14. Platelets three years post-exposure,
Rongelap females.
CUMULATIVE PERCENT
100 counts
RONGELAP UNEXPOSED
3 YEARS POST EXPOSURE
13
2)).—C«aoCOSté<“‘CS!:SCS:*«SE
PLATELETS x 10°
Figure 15. Platelets, cumulative, Rongelap,all ages.
Eosinophils were elevated in both the exposed
and the control groups. In the exposed groups
36% of the eosinophil counts were above 5%. In
the unexposed group nearly as many (48%)
showed counts above 5%.
Monocytes were at about the samelevelas in
the unexposed group, but, as with the other white
cells, the mean count was lowerthan last year’s.
The mean platelet counts were slightly below the
unexposed level (Table 6 and Figure 12). The
greatest difference was seen in the males >10
years of age with mean counts about 18% below
the unexposed level. These differences are apparent in Figures 13 and 14, which showthe age distribution of individual counts around the unexposed mean curves. Figure 15 shows that the
cumulative distribution curves in the exposed
groupsarestill slightly displaced to the left. Two
people (3.2%) in the exposed group had platelet
counts below 150,000 (compared withfourlast
year), and one (1.2%) in the unexposed group.
Nine (14%) in the exposed group had counts less
than 200,000, compared with five (3.9%) in the
unexposed group. [There were three (2.3%) this
low in the Utirik group.]
Basophiuls were about the same in the exposed
and unexposed groups and showedlittle change
since a year ago. Counts of basophils in 4000 white
cells were carried out as a base-line study for
leukemia. In studies on the Japanese exposed to
the atom bombs”* it was noted that early in the
development of leukemia an increase in basophils
in the peripheral blood occurred. No high counts