With segned prubiem of dane rate. these
Went af queiwiee twine tererd Shorr. ff ths
dune dslivercd aver a few wrenda, a few minutes
er a few he..cn. However, a dem delivered over
several day» or wesks will be much lean e@fertive
far same efforts, than will the mae dose do-
~— by washing, chppeng or shaving
= euvatinily ne diferenre im o@ert of s given
hivered overs few mineten. Seme data indicate
thet the e@ert of a given total dose derreases
reughty as the fourth roet of the number of days
ever which the dose is given: thus, a dose de-
livered over 16 days would be one-half as effertive as the snme dose delivered over one day.
These relationships were worked out on animaia,
wstng the sn-called “rectangular” dose schedules,
e. g-. donen delivered at a constant rate. There
are no data available to aid in evaluating ade-
quately the effect of a constantly changing dose
sheuld nat be delayed.
635
The Bless of lawwensl Resi Prom
Pafieus
The fallow material can be inhaled of imgested and it will, of course. contaminate ex-
posed food or water supplies. Thus, as with
beta burns the possibility of a hazard from this
source in pessible. As with the beta barns,
however, the problem may not be too serious
and relatively simple measures will aid in minluizing exposure. The particle sizes of the
fallout material probably will exceed the optimal size fur a major inhelation hazard.
From
rate an encountered in a fimion product field.
Alen, the relationships were worked out using
acute effects, such ax ‘0-day mortality and it is
not at all certain how closely they apply to
longer-range effects such as cancer production,
data on the Marshallese exponed to fallout, it is
apparently are dependent on total done and
If the hazard was minimum under those conditions, it should be even jes under conditions
of modern American living. With all of the
testing of nuclear devices in Nevada and elvewhere. the level of strontium, the moet important fieion product as far as internal hazard
is concerned, is still only about 1/1000 of the
permissible body burden as reconmended by the
National Committee on Kadiation Protection in
National Bareau of Standards Handbook 52,
nhortening of life span, etc.
(ienetic effects
show littl or no dependence on dose rate.
6.34
The Effects of Beta Radistion From Fallout
E.xtensive beta lesions from fallvat in human
beings had net been encountered previously.
As deveribest in Chapter TT, the lesions, both
chiseatly and histologically, were consistent
with previous data on esperimental human and
animal beta ray burns
Several points should be made regarding the
beta leaons from fallout radiations. Reta le
sions of the skin and depilation can oecur in
the absence of lethal doses of yamma rays and
can he serious,
Thus steps <hould be taken to
prevent them. And it would appear that, with
reasonable precautions they can be prevented, or
at least markedly reduced in severity. Contact
of the fallout with the skin can be prevented by
remaining wittin suitable xhelter or by wear.
ing ordinary clothing. Pf exposxare cannot be
prevented, early and complete decontaniunation
of the skin and hair would prevent or kewer the
severity of the lesions Particular attention
should be piven to the hair beeawe of the like-
.
heer = contamensted, sad # cannst be cleansed
nla iain emmeen en
me
PRs
ween that the degree of internal hazard in the
exposed persons was small. This is encourag-
ing, since thear people lived ina relatively prim-
itive state where maximum probability of contamination of food and water sapplies existed.
for imdustrial workers (9).
The problem should not be neglected, however. The effects of mternally deposited radio-
active materials may not become apparent for
many years and, thus, the problem in the Marshallese will not be fully evaluated for vears.
Every possible precaution against inhaling ra-
dionctive material, or of ingesting contaminated
foul and water shoukld be taken. (ras masks
that efficiently remove fiien product particles
from the sir are available and even a wet cloth
over the face is of consulerable value foe this
purpere. Sprinkling of an area m effective in
relocing the ameunt of dus onthe air,
Plain
water. or wmp and water will remove « large
eeILe 2-2 tines aE A0Sie ee ae
-.