ABSTRACT
The detonation of shot one at Bikini Atoll on March l,
1954, produced a fallout of radioactive ash upon Rongelap Atoli,
Marshall Islands.
The distribution of the radioactive ash on
the islands and in the plants and animals of the area has been
studied and evaluated by the Applied Pisheries Laboratory,
University of Washington.
During the first expedition to Rongelap Atoll on March 26,
1954, biological samples were collected and measurements made of
the radiation contamination.
On three additional expeditions
extensive collections of material were made for this study, the
last on January 25-30, 1955.
The decline in radioactivity was measured in 1499 samples
of fish,
soil
invertebrates, land plants, algae, birds, plankton,
and water from
the Rongelap area.
During this study particular emphasis was placed upon evaluation of the radioactivity in food used by the natives.
Coconut
milk collected on March 26, 1954, contained 1.03 microcuries per
kilogram of wet tissue while the coconut meat had 1.16 uc/kg.
By
January 25-30, 1955, the level in coconut milk had declined to
0.041 uc/kg and the meat to 0.036 uc/kg.
Fish musele on March 26,
1954, averaged 2.74 uc/kg and fish liver 204. uc/kg.
The decline
to January 25-30 was 0.10 uc/keg for the. musele and 3.52 uc/kg for
the liver of fish.
Somewhat similar declines were found for
Clam muscle, crab muscle, bird muscle and liver, and for squash,