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BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE:
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States; including New York, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Denver, the Colorado Plateau, Arkansas,
and Tennessee. The only significant departures. from New York City natural background (7
. toll microroentgens per hour) were found in three regions: the Dakotas, where backgrounds
were approximately three times the natural NewYork background; Denver, Colorado, where —
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background was approximately,twice that of New York; and a 50-mile stretch.on ‘either ‘side
of U.S. Highway 70 between the towns of Carlisle and Palestine in Arkansas, where radiation
levels were 5 to 15 times the normal New York background,
- Measurements taken nine days later in the Arkansas area showed a 715
5 percent decrease
in background. One month after the original measurement, radiation levels in the Black
Hills of South Dakota showed almost a 50 percent reduction. Measurements taken over two
months later in the Denver area.‘showed that radiation levels had decreased about 20 percent.
These lower levels indicate that in each case at least partof the original.background radia~-
tion was attributable to radioactive fallout from test activities.
“The Colorado Plateau showed a‘generally higher background than the‘nationwide average. This was to be expected because of the higher ‘uranium content of many o¢ f the rocks ‘of, the ©
area and because of the higheraltitude.
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Approximately 40 bricks from eight different parts of the country were received for
study. Preliminary measurements. indicated that whereas different types of bricks fromthe - 7
same location showonly slight differences in radioactivity, there is a range of approxi-© °
matelythree to one in the radiation measured from bricks of different localities. This study
is beingcontinued. a
VISIT TO MARSHALISLANDS. :
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Dr. Cc. L. Dunham, Director of the Division of Biology and Medicine, visited Rongelap
Atoll during the month of September. The people had beenback on their island for two
‘months and had made a good adjustment. The new housing and community buildings are very
' satisfactory. The recently installed two-way radio saved two lives by permitting prompt .
transfer of two'serious emergency cases to the hospital at the Kwajalein Naval Station.
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Plans were begun for the next annual medical survey, to take place in March 1958, four
years after exposure. This willbe the fifth examination conducted, and itwill be enlarged
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repeatedly on the Marshallese in future annual surveys. (End of UNCLASSIFIED section.) .
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in scope. Extensive studies will be carried out similar to those of the last ‘survey, with
considerable emphasis onhematological investigations and on growth and development of the
children, as well as on long-term effects of radiation. In addition, a whole-body gammacounting facility will be utilized for special studies on whole-body gamma spectroscopy,‘and
radiochemical analyses of.the urine to determine whether the Rongelapese have any appreciable body burden of radioisotopes. It is anticipated that this device will be used .
.