Preliminary Report Rongelap Reassessment Project

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and Congress of the United States Rongelap Reassessment Project 1203 Shattuck Av., Berkeley, CA 94709 Brookhaven National Laboratory

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This preliminary report provides the basis for testimony ‘ o be given on April 26, 1988, before the House Appropriation Committee on Interior, Representative Sidney Yates, Chairman. It was considered important for both the Congress and the Rongelap people to present an overview of the material now available ra her than to wait until all questions have been answered. Meeting the h aring date has involved some last minute pressures. The final report wil probably be issued within 2 - 3 months. The chief conclusion is that, based on the estimation of dult dosage, Rongelap Island may be resettled now. That conclusion however, presupposes certain conditions for living which are set out an discussed in Section 5 (which may be read without reference to the rest of the Report). 1The chief unsettled point is the dose to infants; it is c rrently Another unsettled point is the transuranic dosage (pluto “um-293t It is important to bear in mind that the dosage under di ussion is that from continued residence on Rongelap Island from 1978 ( present), onwards. This adult dosage over the next 30 years “ estimated to be no more than 1 to 2% of that experienced from fallout i 1954 from the Bravo shot. The historical data included in the Report a of interest for general orientation. As referee, I am solely responsible for the contents of ‘ his report. However, two consultants have strongly objected to major port: ons of it and I am therefore putting their comments together, in their t ntirety, in Note 13. For comparison, I suggest that they be read in conjl nction with Section 5 of the Report (Discussion and Recommendations).

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2.2 Return to Rongelap -- 1957 4.2 Internal Dose: Lawrence Livermore 23 4.3 Internal Dose: Brookhaven 29 5.4 Monitoring and Health Programs 37 5.5 Rehabilitation of Soil 38

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Rongelap Atoll was contaminated with radioactive fallout i 1954 as a result of the Bravo thermonuclear test-shot at Bikini, 130 mi s away. In 1978, to inform the Rongelap people of the extent of residua contamination 24 years later and of its potential effects upon eir health, DOE (Department of Energy) surveyed the region and subs uently issued a specially prepared book report in ?!arshallese. The book was entitled, The Meaning of Radiation for Those ~ 011s in the Northern Part of the ?!arshall Islands that were Surveyed in 1978, and was Dublished in 1982. (He shall refer to it as DOE-1982.) The first part deait in general with radiation and fallout, and how they ‘ght affect plants, animals and man. The situation at Rongelap was specifically on pages 38 - 39. (Note 1) DOE’s assessment of Rongelap Island was not accepted by t so much so that in 1985 the residents abandone their homes and moved to Uajieto in Kwajalein Atoll. The U. S. Congress, therefore, provided for an independent assessment of DOE’s conclusions for Rongelap Island in the Comp t of Free Association Act of 1985 (U.S. Public Law 99-239, section 1 (i); see Note 2). The functions of the present report are therefore as 11OWS: “[The referee shall] review the data collected by the partment of Energy relating to the radiation levels and other condi “ens on Rongelap Island resulting from the thermonuclear test...Th purpose... shall be to establish whether the data cited in pport of the conclusions as to habitability of Rongelap Island as s forth in the [book] . ..are adequate and whether such conclusions re support... habitability... the government of the Ilarshall isl ds shall The DOE-1982 book now under review was discussed with its author, Dr. William Bair (Pacific Northwest Laboratories, Richl Washington 99352), and Dr. Bair has read the parts of this Repo Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, Livermore CA 94550), who supplie field data was also interviewed and has read this Report.

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IRelevant Rongelap studies that were supported by DOE at B okhaven National Laboratory (Upton, New York 11973), were discussed wi Dr. Environmental Protection Division). The citation of their wor in this Report has been checked by them. Additional information from DOE-supported laboratories t at became available after DOE-1982 had been written was made available t us by Adams, Lessard and Robison. Also, we have taken a number of amples in the field and have had them analyzed independently. Other sources of information in the international literat re have been used and are cited in the text. We have also discussed from time to time various matters elating to the Report, or the progress made in developing it, with the Ro gelap people or their representatives, including Senator Jeton Anjai , P.O. Box 1006, ?Sajuro, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 96960. We have also consulted Hr. Peter Oliver, Special Assista Compact Affairs, Republic of the Marshall Islands, P.O. Box 1 Ifajuro, The Reassessment Report (the present document) was writt I. Kohn in his capacity as Referee under contract with RepMar opinions and statements made are therefore his responsibility however, was greatly facilitated by employing an international experts, selected so as to represent a variety of overlapping that would cover the problems under examination. If they chose to do so, the consultants who were still i disagreement with the final draft of the Report (having discu versions with Dr. Kohn), were asked to write brief notes on t eir own views to be mentioned in the text and to be included as footn ~tes or among the “Notes to the Text”. The absence of such comment, lowever, does not necessarily indicate agreement with the entire text. A major commentary by Dr. Bertell and Mr. Franke is given in Note 13.

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The following scientists participated in the Project. Emeritus of Radiation Biology, Harvard ?ledical School: Bikini Atoll Rehabilitation Committee; 1203 Shattuck Ave , Berkeley Radiology, Harvard Hedical School; Director of Joint Pro Nuclear Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, Brigham and Worn Hospital, Children’s Hospital and Institute, and Dana Far Center; Vice-President, National Commission on Radiologi Protection and Measurements; 25 Shattuck St., Boston, HA National Radiological Protection Board (United Kingdom), International Commission on Radiological Protection; Resi Vice President, Technical Applications, The BDX Corp. 7 Branch Drive, HcLean VA 22102 (703-848-7294) Risk Analysis Section, GSF Institut fih Strahlenschutz ( for Radiation Protection), Ingolst~dter Landstrasse 1, D Neuherberg 2225 Federal Republic of Germany GE-055 Hydrology and Chairman, Dept. of Geology and Geophysics, of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822 (808-948-7897) Director of Center for Demographic and Population Geneti Professor of Human Genetics, Univ. of Texas Health Scien Houston; Formerly Director of the Radiation Research Fc Hiroshima-Nagasaki, Japan. Address: Population Genet

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Forest Soils, Cornell University: Adjunct professor Dept Science, 2169 HcCarty Hall, Univ. of Florida, Gainesville Consultants nominated by the ROn!TelaD International Perspectives in Public Health; Commissioner International Commission of Health Professionals, Geneva; President, International Institute of Concern for Publ 830 Bathurst St., Toronto, Ontario H5R-3G1 Canada (radioecology), Executive of the Depa tment of Public Health, Freie und Eansestadt %amburg, Tesdorpfst .8, D-2000 Hamburg 13, Federal Republic of Germany. Office), Institute for Energy and Environmental Research, 6935 Laurel Ave., Takoma Park, HD 20912 (301-270-5500) Others who have informally helped in the production report:

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Rongelap Atoll is located about 2,500 miles southwest of I islets, total area 3.07 sq. miles, which bound a lagoon of 400 The largest and by far the most important island, Rongelap, ha: The geological structure is that of a coral reef atoll re submerged volcanic mass. The islands are made of reef debris, of sand and gravel size, and reef or9anisms. The atoll is typical in appearance, and the islands are c vegetation. However, a major factor limiting the kinds of pla can be grown as staples is the long dry season. The Harshall Islands Statistical Abstract of 1986, issued Republic, lists the population of the atoll as totalling 235. Previously, it was 165 in 1973, 189 in 1967, 264 in 1958. In time of the Bravo incident, 84 persons were evacuated. (These fluctuations reflect the need to work elsewhere.) Earlier rec Japanese and German periods of control are: 99 in 1945, 98 in in 1920, 100 in 1906, 120 in 1860. However, Hr. Peter Oliver, the Republic’s Special Assista Compact Affairs, has informed me that the Rongelap Distribution now makes per capita payments from its Nuclear Claims Fund to individuals. Currently, these amount to $1480 per year to tho to fallout in 1954, and $480 to others. The Council has also 2,277 individuals qualify for the benefits of the Section Program as a result of their ties to Rongelap. The initial event occurred on lfarch 1, 1954, when a 17-me thermonuclear device was set off at Bikini Atoll, the Bravo te device was 1000 times as powerful as the bombs that destroyed and Hiroshima; its cloud rose 25 miles above the earth, and a minutes had a diameter of 70 miles. It had been planned that the “cloud” would be blown to th north (Fig. 2.1 #l). Unexpectedly for whatever reason (Note 3) blown to the east so that at about 5 hours after detonation fa at Rongelap Atoll, and during the ensuing 7 hours fell in such as to suggest to Rongelapese, who had never seen snow, that it snowing (Sharp & Chapman, 1957). Rather than avoiding contact played in the powdery, finely granular fallout, and no particu was made to separate it from food or clothing. No warning was been issued by the military.

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About 50 hours after the “shot”, the Navy removed the 64 R residents from the Atoll to the medical base at Kwajalein {Shar Chapman, 1957; Cronkite et al, 1956) Also, eighteen visiting Rongelapese were removed from Sifo Island, Ailingnae Atoll, and Utirik people from Utirik Atoll. It was immediately recognized surveillance and care of these people required far more profess staff than the base could supply, and a special medical team hu organized for this purpose in the United States, utilizing nava personnel, reached the base 8 days after the detonation. Consistent with a whole-body dose of 190 rem (over two day ), two-thirds of the Rongelap group experienced nausea, 10% with v miting and diarrhea, which cleared within three days or so, and all s wed depressed white-blood-cell counts (Cronkite et al, 1956). As result of the skin dose from physical contact with fallout, about 70% de loped skin lesions of widely varying severity after a latency period f two to three weeks. Host of these were to heal successfully but a fe developed The most “significant” part of the initial exposure produ d no immediate signs or symptoms. entered the body through fallout-contamination of food and wat r. Over the course of the following weeks these iodine and tellurium radionuclides delivered doses that eventually caused thyroid h pofunction and the appearance of thyroid tumors. The Bravo test posed new dosimetry problems, only vaguely before. Owing to the gigantic energy-yield at ground level, g quantities of coralloid radioactive material were generated (E and Nagasaki had involved high air-bursts): 142 radionuclides involved whose radiations and rates of decay varied greatly, a eventual effects depended on the weather conditions and the li of the exposed population. At the time of evacuation, the exposure rate in Rongelap illage was 1.2 - 2.3 Rlhour. The whole-body dose of was approximately correct. The dose estimate for the thyroid land, however, was much too low because only iodine-131 had been co idered in the calculation. As a result, the appearance of thyroid disc e later on was quite unexpected. An upwards revision of thyroid dose was reported in 1964 hen 1984 (Lessard et al, 1985; Lessard, 1984a), based on a compre nsively planned attack on the problem (Bond et al, 1978), put the mea adult whole-body dose at 190 rem. The revised total dose to the th roid gland, including contributions from all seven important radionuclide was greatly increased and varied significantly with age at exposu e in 1954 -- from 5,200 rem for a one-year old to 1,600 rem at age 14, nd 1,200 rem for the adult male. It was estimated that 95% of the thyr id dose was received during the first three post-exposure weeks, and 100% within

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1964-75. Unquestionable damage to the thyroid gland, espec ally to those exposed below the age of 10, made its appearance. A reexa. Iination of earlier estimates of dose to the thyroid gland led to their e .evation by a factor of about 2 for adults, and 5 or more for children. !he administration of thyroid hormone (interrupted on occasion) to t ~e entire exposed population was begun in 1965 as a prophylactic measure a Iainst thyroid neoplasia (nodules, cancer), and also to correct for POSSible losses in thyroid function. By the end of 1974 (Fig 2.3 # 1), the thyroid tumor recor was as Age below 10 in 1954: 17 tumors in 19 persons examin , Age 10-18 years in 1954: 2 tumors in 12 persons exam” ed. Age above 18 years in 1954 : 3 tumors in 33 persons examined, including 2 cancers. Almost all persons with thyroid nodules were sent for surg” al treatment to the Cleveland Metropolitan Hospital, Cleveland, Oh . Each one was compensated at the rate of $25,000 per surgery. The occurrence of thyroid disease as well as a case of acu leukemia worried the Rongelap people. The medical team was acc having deceived the Rongelap people and of using them as guinea The Brookhaven medical services were boycotted during 1972, but accepted later in the year after a favorable report on the matt 1976-79. More thyroid nodules appeared. The Rongelap pe ple continued to be worried. They asked for an independent health r{ view which was not granted. A group of Brookhaven scientists propos~ !d a comprehensive dosimetry review (Bond et al, 1978), which DOE thl m funded (Lessard, 1984a; Lessard et al, 1984c; Lessard et al, 1985). aerial survey by EG&Gand some terrestrial work by Lawrence Liv !rmore National Laboratory (Robison et al, 1980; Robison et al, 1982b Tipton 1980-84. DOE summarized its survey results in 1982 with a report in t!arshallese, embellished with colored illustrations. (This is t e DOE1982 book under review in the present report. See Note 1.) The conclusion, that Rongelap Island was safe, was not accepted by 11 of the people. The Rongelap people requested the Government to transf r them to another atoll. Significant parts of the anti-nuclear document y film, Half-Life, were filmed at Rongelap. The film suggested that t people

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~. The Rongelap people abandoned Rongelap and sailed f Island in Kwajalein Atoll. The U. S. Congress passed the Compac Association Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-239) of which Section 16 the basis for the present inquiry (Note 2). ~ The following points are of major interest for the g (a) A clear distinction should be made between the late I the large acute exposure in 1954 (190 rem whole-body) and the (but as yet undetermined) effects of the much smaller chronic resettlement …