a
LESSARD er a,
I>
Shortly after the Rongelap people's return, the
5
3
séict
=
ao >
hine
2072
Estimated
Return to
first a sire whole-body counung survey was
BE -
xo
&
ol
performec in 1958. The Hardtack series of
nuclear tests in 1988 was the final above-ground
lests to be performed bythe United States in the
Marshall Islands. Worldwide atmospheric tesi-
ma
mg OF nuclear devices at other locations conw“
:
o
a
2
>
2
[aa
wo
timuec anc peaked during the earl, 1960s During the period 1958 through 198i a totai of e:ghi
June
.
2007
as
e.
ec
©
2.
>
baiaon-stwe
whole-body counting surveys at Rongeiap anc
hve whole-body counung surveys at Lunk were
performec
=
a
=
m
dune
o
and
w
a
>
=~
oo
196)
e
Ss
o
August
ov
ao
Gnd Utirck
Recent WAC
2
mm
ih
Utirik
Evocuated
1962.
1963
April
May
1958
1958
1957
June
1954
June
1954
First
TnSttu
Utivik
Reinhobited Rongetap WBC at
Reinhabited Rongelop
4"
Rongelap and
BRAVO
Detonation
Morch - May
1954
Castle Series
Morch
CACTUS
Hardtack Phase I
April - August
1958
Detonation
Peck U.S
US S.R.,ULK,
Atmospheric Testing
>
w
Fig. 1. Sequence of events at Rongelap and UWtrk Atolls
METHODS
Bodv-burger data and urine acnvily
franons
councen-
Acult average body-burden data and umneactiviiv Concentration data were used as input
quantiues to equations which related them to
acuvity intake rates. These input data were
obtained from Conard’s medical reports (CoS6é:
CoS: Cos¥: Co60: Co62; Co63: Co67: Core:
Co75:. Wo59) and from recent survevs per-
formed bs members of the BNL Safetw anc
Environmental Protection Division. The methods used to obtain the recent bods-burden data
were presented by Muitenberger (M180). The
most recent average data obtained for adult
body burden at Rongelap and ULtmk are
presented here. These data were obtainec in
April 1978. August 1979 and August 1981.
In the cases of '"Cs, °Co and Zn. direct
body-burden measurements were made. In the
cases of ®'Sr and **Pu. urine-activity concen-
trauions were measured and then converted ic
body-burden estrmates. This was done byre-
lating the activity in urine to the activity in the
total body. For Sr and ***Pu, this involved the
use of derived quantities which are developed in
the next section.
Derived quantities
An equation was developed to relate the
activity in the urine or whole body to the
activity taken in by ingestion of contaminated
food and fluids. To select an appropriate mode!
for this relationship, the body-burden history
and the history of activity in vegetation and sotl
were examined. Activity concentrations of '’Cs,
1 and “Sr in surface soil on Rongelap and
Utirik Atolls were observed to decline with time