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BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE
complementary and thus produce the maximum amountof data, the British Medical Research
Council planned to sponsor a conference at Harwell on April 26, 1957. Three AEC geneticists
were selected to attend the conference.
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REPATRIATION OF THE RONGELAPESE
The Commission has determined that the degree of contamination on Rongelap Atoll has
declined to an acceptable level for the return of the Rongelapese to their home island as soon
as rehabilitation procedures have been completed. The Rongelapese, the last of the Marshall
Islanders to be returned to their home island, were evacuated from the atoll after the fallout
of radioactive fission products from the March i, 1954, detonation in the Eniwetok Proving
Ground.
Medical Examinations
Since their exposure to radioactive fallout in 1954, the Marshallese have received four
complete medical examinations. The most recent examination was made in March 1957. Preliminary reports on this examination indicated no illnesses or other clinical conditions which
could be related to radiation effects, and the people appeared to be recovering satisfactorily
from radiation exposure.
Blood counts. Although statistical analyses of blood examinations had not been completed,
it appeared that the blood cell counts were about equal to those in the unexposed people
examined,
Skin burns from beta radiation showed continued improvement, and there were new indications that pigment was returning in burn areas. There was no evidence of any malignancy
in any of the scars resulting from radiation burns.
Body radioactivity. Because urinalyses made in 1956 showed little remaining body
radioactivity, a more sensitive measure of residual activity was used in the 1957 examination.
Four persons from Rongelap, two from Utirik, and one unexposed person from Majuro, who
served as a control for the experiment, were brought to Argonne National Laboratory, where
total body radioactivity was measured in the Human Radiation Detector (“Iron Room”). Detectable amounts of activity were still present, but they were only several times higher than
those found in people in other parts of the world and were well below the accepted tolerance
levels.
Deaths. The only deaths among the Rongelap people since the 1956 survey were one
still-birth and the death of an infant a few hours after birth as a result of infection. These
deaths were not believed to be related to radiation effects.
Utirik. About 130 people who had been exposed to slight amounts of fallout on the island
of Utirik were also examined. They were found generally to be in good health, with no illnesses or clinical conditions which could be related to radiation effects. Radiation could not
be established as a factor in the six deaths which had occurred on Utirik during the threeyear period. This death rate was not considered to be unusual.
External Gamma Dose Rates
The radiation survey of Rongelap Island in July 1956 showed gamma values ranging from
0.2 to 0.5 milliroentgen per hour, with an average of 0.4 milliroentgen per hour. Estimates of
decay indicated that dose rates at the time of repatriation will be less than 30 milliroentgens
per week. It was also estimated that the gamma dose on Rongelap will be about 0.5 roentgen
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