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Radioecological studies in Arctic Alaska were started in 1959 as apart of the Project mario t bioenvironmental program. During the first year,levels of fallout radio nuclides were measured in various species of plants,birds, and small mammals. High levels of radioactivity in lichens and certain other food plants of the caribou stimulated concerted effort to sample caribou during 1960. The high levels that were found resulted in an expansion of the caribou studies and the development o f equipment and plans to take a whole body counter into the field to measure radioactivity in Eskimos during.1962. Independently, Dr. Lid& i n Sweden measured radioactivity in students during 1961 to obtain background levels for medical studies.He found levels in three Laplanders to be considerably higher than in others.This prompted subsequent studies of fallout in the Laplanders and their foods. Cesium-137 levels in Eskimos are significantly higher than i n people from other parts of North America and comparable to levels in Laplanders. have shown these higher levels to result from a combination of ecological ' factors. The deposition of fallout in the Arctic is less than i n many other areas of the United States. Marked differences occur inthe ~ ~ 1 3 7l evels of people from different villages and have been attributed to different food habits. Caribou and reindeer flesh are the dominant sources of cs137. occurred a t Anaktuvuk. Among individuals within villages,relative levels were Among the villages,highest levels
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Children who attend village schools Children returned from boarding schools The Cs137 levels in caribou follow a seasonal pattern with highest levels the caribou are generally killed spor a tic ally and the meat is stored for long The seasonal pattern for Eskimos is different, however, because periods in pits dug into the permafrost. The Cs137levels in the'same group of 25 t o 27 adults from Anaktwuk who have been measured repeatedly during 1962 through 1964 are as follow: Nanocuries Cs137 total body burden Aver age Maximum The Eskimo and caribou studies will be continued. Experiments are i n progress to attempt to determine the per sistance of Cs137 in lichens. DBM i s now supporting part of the Finnish Lapland studies, and itis planned that this year we will start supporting lim no logical studies in Alaska.