A Review of Personnel Monitoring at Bikini

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A NWIEV OF MRSONEL NONITOltI;jGAT BIKINI As a result of the rcccnt meeting at Kili.by Trust Territory, ERDA and Microncsi3n Legal Service officials concerning restrictions on rehabilitation of Bikini it is apparent that there arc several points of misunderstanding in the minds of the Bikini people conccrni,ngstatements radiological sa~cty of Bikini. Before reviewing the obtained on the people living at Bikini I would like I have made regarding the to clarify some of the confusion. First, at the tiiieof the Ad,Hoc Committee meeting, the visit of the Trust Territory and AEC officials to Kili in 1968 and my visit to the island in 1969, the statements made about the radiological safety of Bikini were justified based on the suzwey data compiled at that time. Subsequent analyses of personnel monitoring data on the people living at Bikini showed_ low levels of Zadf.cchctivityin the people confirming the original conclusions. In all sincerity, I disclosed this as additional assurance to the people living there. Based on these findings I would not hesitate to live in one,., of the houses on Bikini. T ainsad about the statcme,ntsa few people -de ,,,. about me at the Kili rnecting. I have great friendship and respect for the people of Bikini and in no way and at any time have I tried to mislead then. From the bc:inning thcrewre certain restrictions concerning ‘rehabilitation of Bikini. It is only velj’rcccntly that radiological syney data has made I it ncccssary to impose further restrictions. I would like .toclear up another point of confusion regarding “medical” for possible radiation effects. The reason is that the radiation levels are “ so low that such examinations are not necessary. For this reason it is Wn70ng for anyone to accuse us of using the people living at Bikini to study radiation . BEST COPY AVAIUBLF

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Cffccts. Radiation there is too.slight for medical studies to bc of interest since no radiation effects would likely be detectable. The urine collection “ and mcasurcmcnts of the body for radioactivity are not medical pro~cdures and are done by technicians. These measurcinents are important since they form the basis for reassurance of the people living on Bikini regarding their radiological safety. Though we are not doing medical examinations ‘if our doctors are at Bikini, as in the request of the individual or the health people,it is not even necessary for our past, we will always be 21ad ‘0 that are sick - but only at the aide. Unless requested by the doctors to go to Bi?cini. In 19692personncl monitoring procedures were begun on a group of 30 : ,> workmen at a work camp on Eneu Island. By 1972 about 3 Bikini families -, had moved back (about 50) and also about 25-30 workers and agriculturists. \ Radiological monitoring at Bikini has been carri”edout annually since 1969. The size of the poi;ulationhas not changed much-since 1973. In order to assess the radiological hazard the following personnel monitoring procedures have been carried out: 1. Rxliocllcmicalanalyses on urine samples: (individual 2~+l]ourand pooled samples). These analyses require complicated chemical procedures and are done for us by the ERDA Health and Safety Laboratory in New York City. Such radiochemical analyses have also been carried out on water and local food products. 2. Direct measurement of radiation in the people by qanznaspectroto the Marshalls and do this tons of radiation-free lead bricks were ship?ed a shielded counting facility set up in one of our airand transported to Bikini on our vessel (LCU-Liktanur).

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TIlCmcasurcmc[~tof body radiation by such mdlysis is very sensitive and rc-.,) * quircs coaplc~ electronic cquipincntand personnel hi~hly trained in electronics were derived from data furnished by other radiological survey groups. The results of the personnel monitoring data on people living at Bikini since 1969 are presented in the accompanying tables. The data on urine analyses are presented on Table I. Note that average pCi/lilier for J3ikini urine compared with Rongelap was for Sr 2.5/3.8 and for CS 638/3360. , ICRP) these isotopes have been well below maximum permissible levels. Xeassuring also is the virtual absence of plutonium in the saples. Levels for internally absorbed 137Cs as measured by spectrographic analyses are presented in Table 2. Note the average values for males and females on Bikini compared with those on Wagelap (in nCi/pg body weight) was 1.4/6.4, below the maximum permissible levels. The graphs in fi~res 1 that body burden (extrapolated) for 90Sr and 137Cs in the Bikini well below the peak values noted in the Rongelap people. The Rongelap people reached a peak of 6-11% of the maximum 90Sr permissible level (for general populations) and of about 22% for . These low values for internally absorbed radionuclides is in accord with the fact that the people on Bikini The contribution of gamma greater than on Rongelap. have been subsisting mainly on imported foods. radiation to the people on Bikini is somewhat

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Table 3 compares the total,bone ~rrm dose (the critical organ for somatic radiation effects) for people living at Eikini, Rongclap, Utirik, Long Island, xcw Yor?cand Denver, Colorado. Since the people living at Denver have a considerably higher natural radiation and medical, dental contribution, the ex~osurc to the people living there is probably higher than people living on Bilcini. The estimated dose to people on Long Island is somewhat less than Bikini doses, also it might be noted that many thousands of people living in.areas of South America and India are exposed to higher lCVCIS than indicated for Bikini due to high thorium content of the soil. There have been no reports of increased cancer or other illness in Denver or these other high lCVC1 populations that might be related to : their increased radiation exposure.- More recent data from radiological surveys last June at Bikini showing higher than e:.~ectedradiation levels in the interior of Bikini and higher levels in pandanus and breadfruit have resulted in,some further restrictions on the future living patterns of the Bikini people. At the time of the Ad Hoc Committee meeting it was no~ known about plan’sfor building houses in the interior of Bikini ls-and. Recommendations to put the first village and f;od ;rops on Eneu were not followed, nor was the rcco~e;~dations to. remove topsoil from planting sites of pandanus and breadfruit on Bilcini followed. The rccor-nendationfor the addition of powdered milk to the diet of the people is being implemented. fie restriction regarding consumption of pandanus and breadfruit may eventually be removed following investigation on growth of these water samples from plants at Eniwetak. Table 4 shows results of analyses of Bikini. Based on these findings the WCII water is in the Catchmcnt (rain) watdr.is very low in activity. With Qhe

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construction of ncw cisterns and mending of leaking ones there should be ample catchrncntwater for drinking and cooking. Consumption of rarine life offers no radiation problem, Coconut crabs (see Table S) appears to be high enovg.’nin activity to bc avoided. They are quite scarce in , any event. Further analyses of local products (pigs, chickens,’vegetables, etc.) have not ings, have not been completed. ‘Iowcver,it is reassuring that the present available local.foods and ground water based on these findraised body burdens of radionuclides above the low levels The direct measurcmnt of radiation levels in the ?eople living on Bikini is the critical test of radiological safety. The exposure of chc - people there, based on the present living pattern, arc i.nthe permissible range and as pointed out lower than some other co~Lunitie~ in the world. As was pointed out radiation exposure is so low on Bikini that medical effects would not be discernible in this population (see ERDA letter of June 27, 1974 fromMr. J. Liverman to Mr. Chips Barry for estimated effects). We believe that continua&ion of persomel monitoring is important, howwer, to mintain a close check on the radiological status of the people. .%1s0 negative findings are important reassurance for the PeCPle liviw ~~~re”

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‘* Dose on Marshall Islands based on personnel and environmental data collLctLi