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Title: Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at Christmas Island and seven atolls in the Marshall Islands. Progress report for 1974--1975

Abstract

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 thanmore » 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.« less

Authors:
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Washington Univ., Seattle (USA). Lab. of Radiation Ecology
OSTI Identifier:
5445389
Report Number(s):
NVO-269-32
TRN: 78-001678
DOE Contract Number:  
EY-76-S-08-0269
Resource Type:
Technical Report
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; 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

Citation Formats

Nelson, V A. Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at Christmas Island and seven atolls in the Marshall Islands. Progress report for 1974--1975. United States: N. p., 1977. Web.
Nelson, V A. Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at Christmas Island and seven atolls in the Marshall Islands. Progress report for 1974--1975. United States.
Nelson, V A. 1977. "Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at Christmas Island and seven atolls in the Marshall Islands. Progress report for 1974--1975". United States.
@article{osti_5445389,
title = {Radiological survey of plants, animals, and soil at Christmas Island and seven atolls in the Marshall Islands. Progress report for 1974--1975},
author = {Nelson, V A},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/5445389}, journal = {},
number = ,
volume = ,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977},
month = {Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1977}
}

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