Table 2. Comparison of predicted and measured body burdens of 137Cs for three atolls in the
Marshall Islands.
Predicted 157Cs adult body burdensin pCi
LLNLdiet model
Atoll
Imports available
Bikini
5.5
Utirik
0.043
0.19
Rongelap
Imports unavailable
11
0.42
0.098
BNL diet*
~20
0.58
Measured 137Cs body
burdens in pCi in
19780
2.4 (M);1.7 (F)
0.18
0.17 (A)
0.053 (A)
4 Naidu et al., 1981.
b (M) stands for male, (F) stands for female, and (A) stands for adult; BNL data, (Lessard et al.,/1980a,
1980b; Miltenbergeret al., 1980).
Also listed are the kilocalories per day (kcal/d) . ’ world this is quite unrealistic. The demand is
intake for the diet model when imported foods
are both available and unavailable.
The intake of 1450 g/d including milk
products in our diet model when imported foods
are available is higher by about 200 to 400 g/d
than the results from the U.S. and Japan
surveys.
The 3003 kcal/d in the diet model
exceeds the U.S. average by a little more than
1000 kcal/d.
The average recommended
allowances for caloric intake range from 2000 to
3200 kcal/d, and individual recommended
allowances from 1600 to 4000 kcal/d (Committee
for Revision of the Canadian Dietary Standard,
1964; Food and Agricultural Organization, 1957;
ICRP, 1975; National Academy of Science, 1980).
It appears that the U.S. population average
intake seldom reaches these high recommended
levels.
This comparison showsthat our diet model,
based upon the MLSC surveyat Ujelang Atoll, is
_ hot seriously at variance with the U.S. and
Japanese data for g/d intake or for total daily
calories consumed. It appears likely that the
overall error is in the conservative direction of
overestimating total intake.
The estimates for “Imported Foods
Unavailable” scenario (Tables 2 and 3) are
based upon the assumption that no imported
present, suppliers and commercial transport are
available, and the people have cash in hand.
Even though resupply schedules may be
somewhaterratic, inventories of imported foods
are expected to be such that the total absenceof
imported foods from the diet is most unlikely.
A final consideration for the diet model is
the predicted amount of calcium.
Dietary
calcium hasto be considered because most models
for 90Sr dosimetry depend onstrontium/calcium
ratios (Papworth and Vennart, 1973, 1984;
Bennett, 1973, 1977, 1978; Cristy et al., 1984;
Leggett et al., 1982). Generally, the models are
designed based on the assumptionthat the daily
intake of calcium is about 0.9 g, as it is in the
United States and Europe. The estimated
calcium intake for the diet model is 0.85 g/d,
which we believe validates the applicability
of the model for Sr dosimetry.
A few general conclusions can be drawn from
evaluating all the available data on dietary
habits in the Marshall Islands.
1. Coconut meat and fluid consumption is
the major source of !37Cs intake in the
diet model; the diet model does predict
the 137Cs burden observed in actual
whole-body counting of the adult
population for twoatolls.
2. The dietary habits are, to a degree,
atoll specific and should be generalized
es}
foods are available; that is, people would
consume only local foods for their entire
lifetime. Our observation is that in today's
EES
mM i
~
&
from one atoll to another only when
.