Individual Radiological Protection Monitoring of Utrok Atoll Residents Based on Whole Body Counting of Cesium-137 (137Cs) and Plutonium Bioassay

An assessment of potential health impacts on Utrok Atoll from exposure to cesium-137 (137Cs) and plutonium

“…Similarly, the level of internally deposited plutonium found in Utrōk Atoll residents is well within the range normally expected for people living in the Northern Hemisphere. In addition, the preliminary results of the bioassay program on Utrōk Atoll (Hamilton et al, 2007b) provide clear evidence that residents of Utrōk Atoll have never acquired a significant uptake of plutonium either through an acute exposure event or from long-term chronic exposure to plutonium in the environment.…”

“…The Marshall Islands whole body counting program has clearly demonstrated that the majority of Utrōk Atoll residents acquire a very small but measurable quantity of cesium-137 in their bodies (Hamilton et al, 2006;Hamilton et. al., 2007a;2007b;). During 2006, a typical resident of Utrōk Atoll received about 3 mrem of radiation from internally deposited cesium-137 (Hamilton et al, 2007a).…”