Radioactivity of Marine Organisms
photopeak of a more abundant nuclide
bidden by t he
f approximately the same energy.
with gamma rayS 0
have
Nuclides If
ype
the latter category that might
in the samples analyzed inciuded co-
cobalt-60 and
been expecteeariun-144 as well as emit
gamma rays
bas
ginc-69.
when two nuclides that
of
De Ne Pe Sady oftenRRR aR
i a samtely the same energy are present in
aero iten one nuclide can be identified by scan-
ping
the
sa mma
has been detected only in spiny lobster “liver.'
Additional information on radionuclides to be ex-
pected in marine organisms from the western Pacific
can be found in the report of the Hansford Labora-
tories on the radionuclide analyses of samples col-
lected after the 1956 Redwing test series.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
spectrum for other photopeaks from
the same nuclide or from assocated nuclides, without resorting to radiochemical methods. The nuclides listed in Table 1 were identified solely by
scanning the gamma spectrum except for silver-110m,
as mentioned above.
Further analysis of the samples from Guan,
Palau. and the Gulf of Siam for specific radionu-
clides was not attempted because of the extensive
work done by the Hanford Laboratories on radionuclide composition of similar samples collected af-
ter the Redwing test series in 1956 (Thomas et al.,
1958). To the extent that the 1956-1957 samples
could be compared with the 1958-1959 samples there
were no gross differences in resuits between the
two groups of data.
SUMMARY
Following the Hardtack weapons test series at
Bikini and Eniwetok in 1958, samples of fish, crabs,
lobsters, snails, clams, algae, and plankton were
collected at Guam, Palau, and in the Gulf of Siam
by the George Vanderbilt Foundation for radiologi-
cal analyses at the Laboratory of Radiation Bio-
logy.
The collecting areas were 1,200. 1,950, and
4,250 miles, respectively, west of the test site.
The gross beta activity
was determined for all samn-
ples and the gamma-emitting nuclides were identified in selected samples.
The rate of westward transport of local fallout from the Hardtack series by the North Equatorial Current was estimated at eight miles per day
between the test site and Guam and Palau.
The
criterion for the arrival of the fallout at the
collecting area was a Significant increase in the
gross beta count of certain biological samples.
The levels of radioactivity were considerably different for samples from the three collecting areas:
the counts of samples from Guar were notably higher
than those from Palau. which in turn were very much
higher than those from the Gulf of Siam, whicb were
essentially at background level for all collections
Page 155
The western Pacific samples were collected by
the George Vanderbilt Foundation, Stanford University, and sent to the Laboratory of Radiation Biology,
University of Washington,
analyses.
.
for radiological
The program was supported by the U.
8. Atomic
Energy Commission under contract number AT(04)3102
with Stanford University and contract number AT
(45-1)540 with the University of Washington.
REFERENCES
Bonham, K.
1959.
Further contributions on gross beta
radicactivity of biological and related samples at
the Eniwetok Proving Ground, 1952-1958.
Univ. of
Washington, U. 8S. AEC report UWFL-63.
41 pp.
Dunham, C.L.
1959.
Statement, Hearings before the
Special Subcommittee on Radiation, Joint Committee
on Atomic Energy, Congress of the U. S., May 5-8,
1959.
Fallout from Nuclear Weapons Tests, U. 8.
Government Printing Office, Washington.
pp. 10-
154.
Harley, J.H. (ed.).
1956.
Operation TROLL.
JHeaith
and Safety Laboratory, New York, U. §. AEC report
N¥O-4656.
34 pp.
Heath, R.L.
1957,
Scintillation spectrometry gammaray spectrum catalogue,
Idaho Operations Office,
Idaho Falls,
239 pp.
Idaho, U. 3. AEC report IDO-16408,
Libby, W.F.
1959.
Ways of reducing world-wide or offSite fallout from testing at a given level.
[In
Summary-Analysis of Hearings, Fallout from Nuclear
Weapons Tests.
App. B.
Special Subcommittee on
Radiation, Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, Congress of the U. S., May 5-8.
U. S. Government
Printing Office, Washington.
p. 42.
Lowman, F.G.
1960.
Marine biological investigations
at the Eniwetok Test Site.
In Vol. II.
Disposal
of Radioactive Wasteg, Intern. Atomic Energy Agency,
Vienna.
pp.
105~138.
The gross beta counts of fish muscle from all areas
from all collections were constant and less than
seven micromicrocuries per gram of wet weight.
The
samples with the highest gross beta counts were
Miyake, ¥., Y. Sugiura, and K. Kameda.
1955.
On the
distribution of radioactivity in the sea around
Bikini Atoll in June 1954.
Papers in Meteorology
and Geophysics (Tokyo) 5(3-4): 253-262.
of 204 and 356 micromicrocuries per gram, respec~
tively.
Gross beta counts of some Guam and Palau
Seckel, H., and K.D. Waldron.
1960,
the Hawaiian skipjack fishery.
clam kidney and spider snail liver, with maximums
Samples prior to the arrival of the Hardtack fallout indicate the presence of radionuclides from
prior test series.
Gamma~emitting nuclides other
than naturally occurring potassium-40 included,
in
order of abundance, cobalt-57, cobait-60, manganese -54,
cerium-144,
zinc-65, and silver-110m.
The
greatest value was 2,300 micromicrocurtes per gram
Oi wet weight for clam kidney (Tridacna). The
oclope ec? of silver-110m in the liver of the spiny
obster was of special
interest because it ig a
previously unreported fallout nuclide and so far
58(3):
11.
Oceanography and
Pacific Fisherman
Seymour, A.H., E.E. Held, F,G, Lowman, J.R. Donaldson,
and D.J. South.
1957.
Survey of radioactivity in
the sea and in pelagic marine life west of the
Marshall Islands, September 1-20, 1956.
Univ. of
Washington, U. S. AEC report UWFL-47.
57 pp.
Thomas, C.W., D.L. Reid, and L.F. Lust.
1958,
Radiochemical analysis of marine biological samples
following the "Redwing" shot series - 1956.
Hanford Atomic Products Operation, General Electric
Co., U. S. AEC report HW-58674.
81 pp.
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