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KWAJALEIN
Some 24 iiours later, after H+78, while the Lucky Dragon plunged
its way northward to Japan, the 18 people from Ailinginae, the 64
people from Rongelap, the 28 Americans, and the 157 people from
Utirik had arrived at Kwajalein.
At that time, like the Japanese
fishermen, many of them began to experience the symptoms of acute
radiation exposure:
itching and burning of the skin, eyes and mouth;
nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
At this time, the people were instructed
to decontaminate themselves by washing with soap several times a day
to clean the radioactive fallout from their bodies.
It was a partic-
ularly difficult task for tne women, who traditionally used coconut
oil on their hair, which caused the fallout particles to cling tenaciously to their long tresses.
About 2 weeks later the second stage of acute affects manifested
themselves:
the hair on the heads of many people wholly or partially
fell ont, and skin “burns' caused primarily by beta activity began
appearing on the necks, shoulders, arms and feet of the more heavily
exposed.
During this two week period and for some time afterward, the
doctors took daily vlood and urine samples.
The blood samples were
watched carefully as they indicated the effect of the radiation on the
marrow and its ability to produce new cells.
If the number of certain
Kinds of cells in the blood dropped far enougii below a normal level,
tuen internal bleeding .leading to death could occur.
watched and counted, tue levels dropped:
As they were
sranulocytes dropped to
luv em* (with one count of 700), leukocyte counts dropped to 4000 or
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