Table 15
Average Estimate of Activity Intake from Cistern Water
Rongelap Island
Bq
1351
1347
1337
133my
1327
1317
7.8xl10°
14x10
1.0x105
1.5x103
4.1x102
7.8x10%
yCi
21
3.8
28
0.040
11
2.1
Sifo Island
Bq
wCci
1.7xl02
6.7x10%
l. 6x10°
6.7x107—s5.9x10*
1.1x10*
4.7
1.8
4.2
0.018
1.6
0.29
Utirik Island
Bq
6.7xl10*
2.6x102
1.4x10°
3.4x10*
pci
1.8
7.0
3.9
0.93
and prepared foods such as cooked pumpkin, starch tubes, rice, and bread products over open campfires (see Figure 13). In addition, fish was normally dried
on open air racks prior to intake.
d. Activity Ingested with Meals. Most of the activity fell at
Rongelap Island during preparation of the midday and evening meals. Fallout was
visible even on peoples' skin, and caused itching, sneezing, and coughing
(Sh57). The living pattern of the Marshallese led to direct ingestion of BRAVO
fallout in amounts which can be estimated on the basis of meal intake and if the
I activity measured in urine is used as a normalization point. The living
patterns at Utirik and Sifo were similar to those at Rongelap (Na80). No alteration in daily routine was thought to occur and no attempt at removing visible
fallout from food was reported by persons evacuated from Rongelap or Sifo Islands (Sh57).
Fallout was distributed on the surface ofRongelap Igland at 0.5
day post-detonation at a level of about 3.7 x 10/9 Bq a2 (1 Ci m7?) (see Table
13). This was in agreement with soil sample results obtained on March 8, 1954
(0C68). On the basis of a conversion factor given by the persons doing the soil
analysis (0C68), the measured soil specific activity was converted to activity
per unit area at 0.5 day post-detonation for comparison purposes. Their value
for Rongelap Island based on four samples, was 2.0 x 1019 + 2.7 x 1010 Bg m2
(0.53 £0.72 Ci m2).
Random soil sampling was done at Utirik Island, Sifo Island,
Eniwetak Island, and other islands at Rongelap, Ailingnae, Utirik, and Rongerik
Atolls (0C68). At the end of fallout deposition at Utirik Island, which we
estimated to be 1.5 days post detonation, the surface activity based on one soil
sample was 1.0 x 1910 Bq m (0.27 Ci m-2)
This very large result does not
agree with estimates we derive from exposure-rate measurements. At this activity per unit “retthe exposure | rate 1.5 days post-detonation should have been
8.3 x 104 ¢ kg” 1
1 (3.2 R ho ly, however, the island average was estimated
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