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Radiological Assessments for the Resettlement of Rongelap in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (1994) / Chapter Skim
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4. MEASUREMENTS ON HUMANS
Pages 53-62

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From page 53...
... Historical measurements provide information on the uptake of radionuclides from past habitation on the islands, provide data on the metabolic behavior of the relevant radionuclides in these populations, and provide a basis for testing models that are used to estimate intake and radionuclide burdens from environmental data. A contemporary bioassay program would establish pre-resettlement baselines on the people expecting to return to Rongelap.
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From page 56...
... This will aid in providing assurance that the conditions of the MOU are being met by determining actual body burdens and thereby providing the data necessary to evaluate the dose to the maximally exposed resident. · Adopt the approach of following a defined Rongelap subpopulation during different seasons to obtain a better temporal definition of cesium-137 uptake and loss before and after resettlement.
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From page 58...
... Knowledge of these rates is important when interpreting the analytical results for plutonium in urine. Because of worldwide fallout of plutonium due to atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, it is likely that residents of the northern hemisphere have sufficient systemic burdens of plutonium to produce daily urinary plutonium excretion rates of around 2 - 4 pBq (54 - 108 aCi; aCi = attocurie = 1O-~s Ci)
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From page 59...
... Plutonium is also subject to hydrolysis that forms colloidal species that tend to sorb onto container walls, but there are ways to prevent this, such as keeping solution pH low and using Teflon containers. At one point, the BNL procedure called for dilution with water, which can cause localized areas of high pH that can lead to hydrolysis; dilute acid should be used for this dilution.
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From page 61...
... The committee feels that an active program of interIaboratory comparison should be undertaken to document the accuracy and precision of the techniques being implemented for routine plutonium analysis. In addition, problems encountered in interpreting measurements of plutonium in urine need to be carefully documented and understood before any program is initiated for routine monitoring of plutonium intake.
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Key Terms

  • urinary excretion
  • marshall islands
  • body burdens
  • dose rates
  • bnl procedure

  • effective dose
  • maximally exposed
  • exposed resident
  • internal report
  • systemic burden

  • extremely sensitive
  • marshall island
  • rongelap residents
  • plutonium analysis
  • plutonium due

  • excretion rates
  • background excretion
  • internal burden
  • wbc facilities
  • quartz slides

  • rongelap people
  • systemic burdens
  • bioassay program
  • bioassay measurements
  • rongelap resettlement

  • wbc instrumentation
  • liquid scintillation
  • plutonium excretion
  • historical measurements
  • detected outside


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