Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at Christmas Island and seven atolls in the Marshall Islands. Progress report for 1974--1975
The Division of Operational Safety or DOS (now Safety Standards and Compliance) portion of the Laboratory of Radiation Ecology (LRE) Pacific Radiocology Program (formerly Johnston Atoll Program) began on 1 July 1974 and is continuing. The purpose of this program is to determine the kinds and amounts of radionuclides distributed in the foods, plants, animals, and soil of the Central Pacific, especially the Marshall Islands. Five field trips were conducted for this program between April 1974 and August 1975, and about 600 samples were collected. Results of the analyses indicate that /sup 90/Sr and /sup 137/Cs are dominant in the terrestrial environment and, in addition, /sup 241/Am and /sup 239,240/Pu are also important in the soil from Bikini and Rongelap atolls. Cobalt-60 and /sup 55/Fe are predominant in the marine environment together with naturally occurring /sup 40/K. Amounts of radioactivity vary between atolls and between islands within an atoll in relation to the distance from the nuclear weapons test sites. Bikini atoll has the highest amounts of radioactivity, but the northern islands of Rongelap Atoll have only slightly lower amounts. Rongerik and Ailinginae atolls and the southern islands of Rongelap Atoll have similar amounts of radioactivity which are lower than Bikini by factors of 5 to 10 or more. Values at Utirik Atoll are lower still, but are higher than amounts at Wotho and Kwajalein atolls. Christmas Island in the Line Islands has the least amount of radioactivity of the areas surveyed for this report.
- Research Organization:
- Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Lab. of Radiation Ecology
- DOE Contract Number:
- EY-76-S-08-0269
- OSTI ID:
- 5445389
- Report Number(s):
- NVO-269-32; TRN: 78-001678
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at five atolls in the Marshall Islands; September--October 1976
The Northern Marshall Islands radiological survey: Data and dose assessments
Related Subjects
45 MILITARY TECHNOLOGY, WEAPONRY, AND NATIONAL DEFENSE
AMERICIUM 241
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
AQUATIC ECOSYSTEMS
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
CESIUM 137
COBALT 60
IRON 55
MARSHALL ISLANDS
RADIATION MONITORING
NUCLEAR EXPLOSIONS
FALLOUT
PLUTONIUM 239
PLUTONIUM 240
STRONTIUM 90
TERRESTRIAL ECOSYSTEMS
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
BIKINI
CRUSTACEANS
FISHES
FOOD
PLANTS
SAMPLING
SOILS
TIME DEPENDENCE
WILD ANIMALS
ACTINIDE ISOTOPES
ACTINIDE NUCLEI
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
ALKALINE EARTH ISOTOPES
ALPHA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
AMERICIUM ISOTOPES
ANIMALS
ARTHROPODS
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BIOMASS
CESIUM ISOTOPES
COBALT ISOTOPES
ECOSYSTEMS
ELECTRON CAPTURE RADIOISOTOPES
ENERGY SOURCES
EVEN-EVEN NUCLEI
EVEN-ODD NUCLEI
EXPLOSIONS
HEAVY NUCLEI
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
INVERTEBRATES
IRON ISOTOPES
ISLANDS
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
MASS TRANSFER
MINUTES LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
MONITORING
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES
RADIOISOTOPES
RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES
STRONTIUM ISOTOPES
VERTEBRATES
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
520300* - Environment
Aquatic- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- (1989)
510301 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Soil- (-1987)
510302 - Environment
Terrestrial- Radioactive Materials Monitoring & Transport- Terrestrial Ecosystems & Food Chains- (-1987)
450200 - Military Technology
Weaponry
& National Defense- Nuclear Explosions & Explosives