Dosimetry methods and results for the former residents of Bikini Atoll [electronic resource].

Published: Upton, N.Y. : Brookhaven National Laboratory, 1979.
Oak Ridge, Tenn. : Distributed by the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, U.S. Dept. of Energy.
Physical Description: Pages: 25 : digital, PDF file
Additional Creators: Brookhaven National Laboratory and United States. Department of Energy. Office of Scientific and Technical Information

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Summary

The US Government utilized Bikini and Enewetak Atolls in the northern Marshall Islands of Micronesia for atomspheric tests of nuclear explosives in the 1940's and 1950's. The original inhabitants of these atolls were relocated prior to the tests. During the early 1970's, a small but growing population of Marshallese people reinhabited Bikini. Environmental and personnel radiological monitoring programs were begun in 1974 to ensure that doses and dose commitments received by Bikini residents remained within US Federal Radiation Council guidelines. Dramatic increases in /sup 137/Cs body burdens among the inhabitants between April 1977 and 1978 may have played a significant role in the government decision to move the 140 Bikinians in residence off of the atoll in August 1978. The average /sup 137/Cs body burden for the population was 2.3 ..mu..Ci in April 1978. Several individuals, however, exceeded the maximum permissible body burden of 3 ..mu..Ci, and some approached 6 ..mu..Ci. The resultant total dose commitment was less than 200 mrem for the average resident. The average total dose for the mean residence interval of approx. 4.5 years was about 1 rem. The sources of exposure, the probable cause of the unexpected increase in /sup 137/Cs body burdens, and the methods for calculating radionuclide intake and resultant doses are discussed. Suggestions are offered as to the implications of the most significant exposure pathways for the future inhabitation of Bikini and Enewetak. (ERB)

Report Numbers

E 1.99:bnl-26797
E 1.99: conf-791122-1
conf-791122-1
bnl-26797

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Note

Published through SciTech Connect.
01/01/1979.
"bnl-26797"
" conf-791122-1"
2. Asian regional congress on radiation protection, Manila, Philippines, 5 Nov 1979.
Greenhouse, N.A.

Funding Information

EY-76-C-02-0016

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