Thyroid absorbed dose for people at Rongelap, Utirik, and Sifo on March 1, 1954

A study was undertaken to reexamine thyroid absorbed dose estimates for people accidentally exposed to fallout at Rongelap, Sifo, and Utirik Islands from the Pacific weapon test known as Operation Castle BRAVO. The study included: (1) reevaluation of radiochemical analysis, to relate results from pooled urine to intake, retention, and excretion functions; (2) analysis of neutron-irradiation studies of archival soil samples, to estimate areal activities of the iodine isotopes; (3) analysis of source term, weather data, and meteorological functions used in predicting atmospheric diffusion and fallout deposition, to estimate airborne concentrations of the iodine isotopes; and (4) reevaluation of radioactive fallout, which contaminated a Japanese fishing vessel in the vicinity of Rongelap Island on March 1, 1954, to determine fallout components. The conclusions of the acute exposure study were that the population mean thyroid absorbed doses were 21 gray (2100 rad) at Rongelap, 6.7 gray (670 rad) at Sifo, and 2.8 gray (280 rad) at Utirik. The overall thyroid cancer risk we estimated was in agreement with results published on the Japanese exposed at Nagasaki and Hiroshima. We now postulate that the major route for intake of fallout was by direct ingestion of food prepared and consumed outdoors. 66 refs.,more » 13 figs., 25 tabs.« less