72
Bikini (see Table 41 and Appendix 12), and a
gammasurveyofthe island was made by Greenhouse etal.156 (see Appendix 14).
On Bikini Island almost all the gammaradiation is now due to 137Cs. The gammalevel due to
natural radioactivity is considerably less on these
islands than in the U.S.; this is why the average
gamma dose to an inhabitant is lower in Bikini
Village than in certain parts of the U.S. The
people living on Bikini eat a diet consisting almost
entirely of imported food, but they ingest slight
amountsof radioactivity from local seafood. The
newly planted coconut, pandanus, and breadfruit
trees will not bear fruit in any significant quantity
for some years yet. The urinary radionuclidelevel
of the Bikini people is now several times as high as
whenthey wereliving on Kili Island, butstill considerably below the permissible range. Thetotal
estimated internal bone marrow dose in 1974 to
the people living on Bikini was abouthalf that to
the people living on Rongelap, but with the ex-
ternal dose included, the dose to the bone marrow
was aboutthe same(see Table 42). It is reassuring
that analyses of urine for plutonium showlevels
near backgroundin the Bikini people (see Table
37). Well water on Bikini has had lowlevels ofac-
tivity (see Table 38). The dietary levels projected
for Bikini when the newly planted trees bearfruit
should be considerably lower than the levels based
on analyses of fruit from old trees because of the
ining groups have been concernedalso with general health care at the timeoftheir visits. The re-
sponsibilities have beenfilled by carrying out extensive annual examinations, supplementedin re-
cent years by semiannual hematology checks and
quarterly visits by a resident physician. The examinations, which have been carried out with the
assistance of the Trust Territory Health Services,
have resulted in extensive medical histories and
records for each individual and have madeit possible to diagnose and treat many diseases and illnesses at an early stage.
An important aspect of the medical surveys is to
maintain rapport with the people, to keep them
informed of the medical findings, to explain the
need for examinations, and at times to correct un-
founded rumors about fallout effects. Unfortu-
nately this has not always been successfully kept
up because of differences in language and culture.
Somestudies have been of benefit to the Mar-
shall Islands as a whole, such as the surveysof the
incidence of diabetes and ofparasitic infestation.
In addition, a great deal of data has accumulated
from studies of genetically inherited characteristics
which mayprove valuable not only in determining possible genetic effects of radiation but also in
anthropology.
B. COMPARISON WITH OTHER
HUMAN EXPOSURES
soil removal procedures used at planting, but their
actual evaluation must await maturity of the trees
andfurther analyses.It is planned to add supplementary calcium to the diet of the Bikini people
to help reduce absorption of 9°Sr. Experiments are
under way to investigate the tolerance of Marshallese people for powdered milk as a source of
calcium. Races other than the Caucasian are reported to have a lowertolerance for milk because
of a genetic inability to digest lactose which gives
directly from the bombswith little or nofallout in-
symptoms, !75
ternal absorption of radioactive materials. In con-
rise to abdominal discomfort, diarrhea, and other
Vil. Comments and Conclusions
A. THE EXAMINATIONS
The primary responsibility assigned the medical
team by the AEC (now ERDA)was the diagnosis
and treatmentofpossible effects of radiation exposure in the Marshallese, but inevitably the exam-
In contrast to other groups exposed to radiation,
the Marshallese are unique in that they comprise
the only human population ever exposed to acute
radiation from fallout. The accident focused at-
tention for the first time on the hazardsoffallout
from nuclear detonations. The atomic blasts above
Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulted in casualties
due to penetrating gammaandneutron radition
volved and therefore caused no effects due to in-
trast, the Marshallese were not exposedto direct
effects of the detonation but only to radioactive
fallout resulting in whole-body, skin, and internal
exposure. Trauma and extreme psychological disturbancesdid not contribute to the effects in the
Marshallese as they did in the Japanese. The importanceof the hazard from internal absorption of
radioactive iodine has been clearly demonstrated
by the Marshallese experience. The 23 Japanese
fishermen on the Lucky Dragon received an exposure similar to that of the Rongelap group but