30503 8C fl ±DEN 11 ffijaa June 10 AEC 1954 730 3 COPY NO 14 ----- ATCMIC ENERGY COMMISSION PRELIMINARY REPORT ON CONTAMINATION OF THE FUKURYU MARU AND ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS IN JAPAN Note by the Secretary ··- • ·- The General Manager has requested that the atiached re ' ort by •- • i__ -- jf -- - 1 -- Merril Eisenbud be circulated for the information of ' he ·- f- f Commission US DOE ARCHIVES 2 S U S A-TOM I C E N-c ---R a y ROY B SNAP Secretacy RG ____c ·o _ 1 1_ s s-- 'v 1 ____ l Collccflo'l z l L -dM ' A y r _h 7 k i 'JI Box - Folder J l £- 3 g J -K -£ CLASSIF1CATION CAi CELLED BY AUTIIORITY OE e UiD- l pf f2 a k 4J BY11rr J g y ii t 1 DATE 'l 7 1 'BY J Y a nATE ff 1 rt1 l _ TSTRI3UTION COPY NO -3ecr-etary 1 Corr rr 1 ssioners General l• anager 2 - 6 15 Asst Gen gr R ID -- General Counsel Biology I• edicine Inf'or-m tion •ali tary hpplication Special Projects 9 When separated from enclosures handle thi a aocument as ••• •• • 10 11 12 ii Secretariat 71 S mr ulsi soabd £ • fnCsm ttun • ff ztta1 tb a rat1o ' 1 deCsra sf t'ie1 Ilrftsd Shah • f 11 t klsl 4 ca-era at bhe csplo agc 12ws ±Ci@ 10s a a • 9 191 i 79 ls tho xa • f l r 7 tr JQ 0 cC 2·b1sb ta JS tt lllL 1 be N nr tborfead r on · L '1 QUf'iiiflijiiJ Is ENCLOSURE UNITED STATES ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION April ·9 1954 · ·• MEMORANDlJ11 'IO F'ROM • • John c Bugher MD- Merril Eisenbud CONTAMINATION OF THE FUKURYU MARU AND ASSOCIATED SUBJECT PROBLEMS IN JAPAN PRELIMINARY REPORT I have recorded some of the observations rr de during my visit to· Japan to assist in the various problems arising out of the mishap to the Fukuryu Maru I am sending this along to· you at this time because you will no doubt want a preliminary report prior to my return to the States in about 2 week This memorandum is intended to augment the report that Dr Morton will submit to you I have attempted to limit myself to factors other than those associated with the clinical phases of the problem with which Dr Morton's group_ are concerned _ ' ' E INCIDENT The mishap which befell the Fukuryu l• aru became known to t e Embassy and the world on March 16 through reports in the Japanese press This 1- as two days after the 100-ton fishing · vessel had returned to its home port of Yaizu The facts of the incident as determined by the Japanese Foreign Office and com r - micated 1 to the Ambassador are as follows 1 The course of the vessel from its departure on January 27 to its return to Yaizu on March 14 is plotted in Figure No 1 At 0412 hours on March 1 a streak of light reported by the crew 1s believed to identify the time of detonation The vessel I s position was approxir ately 110 53-1 4' north and 166° 34-1 4 1 east This position fs only a few miles from the easternnest limit of the arshall Islands danger area in ffect at that t irrie 1 Aide T• er ioire of l• arch 27 s nlnJ acrLa-'na -'r_fc st-'sr affsQ ·jpq tbe u a 1 dc c11sc of 1 1c ifa l 'se ei 6 te l 12 th• r ' be• lllliEtnlag of the 08Jih 2 tge lB Pllj UJe 18 II s Cu lji' fa Ii s I ea 793 a12@ 794s he t hOilllUf0n AP 7011alr 'i ts11 Jzb1 sl 111 Eli JU i UCI bu ii Uil- tl e1 l ae i JtCiJd i h J it ohibHc i b 1 1fi or ' • Q CJl Hc ll' Ais 2 Two-blasts in succession were heard about 7 or 8 minutes after the light had been seen The crew is reported to have become apprehensive and began at that time to haul in their fishing lines an operation which continued until 1030 hours at which time the vessel headed north to get out of the area 1 3 At about-0700 on March 1 ashes began to fall turning the deck white The position of the vessel at this time is given at 110 56-3 4' north and 166° 42-1 2' east The ashes kept falling until noon at which time· the gosition·of the vessel was estir ated at 12° 14' north and 166 53' east - 4 At 0440 hours on March 2 the vessel shifted its course to - ard its home port of Yaizu where it arrived at -C600 on March 14 -· 5 In the following two or three days all the crew reported slight headaches and some of them were·nauseous In 7 or 8 days evidence of burns on exposed parts of the body began to appear In response to certain questions which the Ambassador asked the Foreign Service the following information was received It sheds some light on the sequence of events during the 2 da following the retur-n of the Fukuryu Ma ru to Yaizu but before · the mishap had come to the attention of the Embassy 1 The crew first contacted the ship's owner and the director of the Fisherman's Union On the day of their return crew members who were seriously affected consulted a physician of the Kyoritsu Hospital 2 Two of the fishermen Yamamoto and Masuda who were tn more serious condition left the Kyoritsu on March 15 for okyo where they visited Doctor Shimizu at the Tokyo Unive sity Ji spi tal 3 Professor Shiokawa made radiation measurements of -c 1e ship on March 16 and on the basis of his findings all of the crew members consulted a physician who recommended that the men hospitalized ·I - E ROLE OF THE JA P ll NESE SCIENTISTS During the latter half of March the Japanese press-·was fed continually with sensational statements from Japanese Scientists The motivations of the Japanese were never quite understood by us but the following factors rr ay be enur erated as pertinent to our lack of progress in dealing with them 1 In a long private conversation that I had with Dr Tsuzuki at his home on the evening of l• arch 24 he- was frank in stating his apprehension that the hmerican scientists would deny hin and his associates professional recognition due them for their acconplishrr ents in the diagnosis and treat ent of the fisherr en He referred frequently to his experience in 1945 when he - 2 - -ia0JIF±DEIH IAD led the teams of ·Japanese investigators into Hiroshima and·· Nagasaki only to have his work interrupted by the Occupation investigators who undertook their own studies Dr Tsuzuki· seemed to accept my assurances that in the present situation it was the intent of the American scientists to assist the Japanese and that all of our findings would be availabe to them and could be used as they saw fit in their own publication • - • Dr Tsuzuki was outwardly friendly to both Dr Morton and myself until the time of his departure for Geneva on arch 31 Despite this the lack of cooperation continued to be manifest on the P art of the Japanese investigators I do not know whether this was because we misjudged Dr Tsuzuki's friendliness or because he lacked influence on his Japanese coll agues 2 'I here was much evidence of rivalry among various Japanese medical groups In particular the taff at Tokyo University headed by Dr Tsuzuki were initially at odds with the group at the National Institute of Health headed by Dr Kobayashi Moreover the local physicians at Yaizu where all but two of the patients were hospitalized until March 29 wer anxious for various reasons that the patients remain there Their lack of cooperation with the American scientists may have been motivated by their knowledge that the Americans advised that the patien s be transfered to Tokyo I 3 Many of the accepted procedures of modern American medical practice seemed strange to the Japanese and their concepts are strange to us For example access to patients by any physicians was denied for several days because the Japanese physicians found their patients to be in a highly excited state and preferred not to disturb them Japanese physicians indicated on several occasions that the taking or duplicate blood smears by Japanese and An erican investigators was an unnecessary duplication and an ordeal that the patients should not be expectea to undergo In my initial conference with the Japanese scientists I was forced to the conclusion that they were not well equipped · to deal properly with the radiological aspects of the problem For example · 1 Some of the top scientists took the position that because a new kind of bomb was involved the problem itself was a r ew one and that unless they knew all about the bomb they could evaluate neither the injury to the fishermen nor the aspect of long-range contamination of Japan and its fishing crews throughout the Pacific 2 They ere quick to identify qualitatively sone of the radioactive isotopes in the ash and iITu ed1ately concluded that ce osition of these radioisotopes in the tissues of the r en' ' as the prime factor in their edical status This decision was reached without benefit or radiochemical urine cnalyses of the r atients This procedure which as beyond the capability ot their laboratories is of course a prerequisite to understanding the a ount and kind of fission product absorption that actually occurred - 3 - • 8 OllP EB IJ fH#t i - 3 The University of Tokyo group administered parentally a massive dose of ash to one mouse and following sacrifice 12 hours later determined by radiography that radio-activity was present in the mouse skeleton The activity ot the dose was not measured The fact that the radioactivity was detected by the scientists in the skeleton of the mouse was• widely publicized as evidence for their conclusion that the patients were carrying dangerous internal deposits of radioactive isotopes As individuals the scientists see ed anxious to cooperate In my initial coQversations with them they freely asked for help and seemed gratified at some of the things that we could do or them My participation on the American team was J mited to the radiological aspects of the case and only in identally to the patients themselves Unfortunately the natu e of Dr Morton's participation required that he be given d rect access to the patients and this the Japanese consistently refused to grant As the days went by and the Japanese became more resolute in their decision to deny access to the patients other areas of the problem became infected by the uncooperative atmosphere This will become apparent in subsequent portions of the report OFFERS OF ASSISTANCE TO THE JAPANESE When I arrived in Tokyo on March 22 Morton had al eady offered to the Japanese the full facilities of the Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission General Hull had likewise offered the facilities of the Far East Cornn nd These offers were accompanied by a spirit of sympathy and the desire·to assist· the Japanese investigators in their efforts to evaluate the incident and to restore the health of the fishermen At a meeting with top Japanese scientists and government officials on J2 rch 24 I made a fur•ther offer in behalf of the Atomic Energy Comnission to provide whatever facilities were available for evaluation of the radiological factors involved in the incident repeated the assurances repeated earlier by Dr Morton that t e wished s1ncerel¥ to be of assistance that our participation ias not motivated as some Japanese suggested by the opportun1 ties for scientific studies and that whatever data we obtained wauld be turned over to the Japanese investigators to be used by them in any ay they saw fit · At this point it would be desirable to list the radiolog1 al studies h1ch had been already made by the Japanese These studies are of interest because they indicate the extent of Japanese capabilities in this· field and aefine the extent to which our facilities would be helpful to the Japanese 1 Using a Cutie Pie they measured the rad1oact1v1ty or the Fukuryu I• aru These ciata appear completely satisfactory and prove to be in good agreewent with rr easurerr ents r ade with Arr er1can calibrated equiprr ent 2 They measured radioactivity of the fish and fishermen using portable survey equipment However their equipment was not calibrated and their data were given in counts per minute as determined by the original factory calibration El iJJililii iU'llilil Es 3 They a·etermined' that the ash recovered from the vessel was radioactive using an end window GM tube and scaler Their counting system was not calibrated and they reported counts per minute wJth no knowledge of the factor required to convert their data to standard units ' 4 They completed a qualitative radiochemical analysis of the ash and reported the following Sr89 Y91 Zr95 Nb95m Nb95 Rul03l Rul06 Rhl06 Sbl27 Tel32 1131 1132 Bal40 Lal30 1 Cel41 Ce14 lf More recently they have completed a semi- quantitative analysis for a few isotopes · 5 They had scanned the bodies of the fishermen with a GM probe 6 They had administered a dose of ash to 1 mouse as described earlier 7 Using an 1mersion type GM tube they had· demonstrated radioactivity ia the urine of 3 fishermen As before their equipment was not calibrated and the absolute activity could not be determined · With this as the status of their investigation at the time of my arrival and following several hours during which I acquainted the Japanese with our experience in this field I offered the following services to them1 · 1 Complete radiochemical analysis of 24 hour urine collections from all patients In view of the importance of this analysis in evaluating the status of the patients I urged that these samples be furnished iw mediately and assured them that in one week it would be possible to give them a report for the constituents of principal biological importance I explained the the need for serial samples and suggested that collections be ade at weekly intervals They seemed anxious to accept this 3ervice ACTION This offer was made on March 24 On r- arch 26 we r-btained urine from two patients On April 1 we obt·a1ned urine from 5 more We have not obtained urine from the remaining 16 patients despite our repeated attempts to do so · o 2 I offered to scan the fishermen for radiation using Scintimeters that I had available ACTION I have been unable to do this because they have not permitted the American team to have access to the patients 3 In response to the Japanese request I offered to provide a report on the biologically significant radioisotopes present · in the ash ACTIO l Dr l 2 kaizum1 gave me a sm 111 amount of deck s'l' eepings from the Fukuryu l• aru 'This I have sent to the Heal th and Safety Laboratory for future study The co posit1on of the ash ' as actually known to the-Commission from c nalyses performed by the Air Force on the m a terial obtained from the Fukuryu Maru prior to my visit Authorization for transmission 0£ this information to the Japanese as cor ununicated to me in telegram no 2199 -e CHfP DBHTMfs - from the Secretary of State to the Ambassador this information to Dr Kobayosh1 on April 7 ·- - I transmitted 4 I offered to arrange for animal studies which wouldprovide useful information on absorption and metabolism of the various radiochemical components of the ash ACTION The Japanese reported the ex ent of the total anount of ash recovered as 50 millecuries They now deny that this much is available and have no inventory of the material Except for the small amount of ash turned over to me by Dr Nakaizumi and a similar amount which I recovered on a subsequent visit to the Fukuryu Maru no ash has been made available to us 5 In response to Japanese requests I agreed to recommend monitoring procedures for the tuna inspectors ACTION Monitoring procedure was devised but I deferred _ the question of maximum permissable contamination-until more information became availa le on the extent and type of contamination I agreed to stand by until the first c6ntaminated tuna were found by inspection at which time I would go to the scene of' inspection and recommend specifically on the basis of my · - _ -· own observations whether the catch should be accepted or rejected · As noted elsewhere in some detail the Japanese never permitted · me to examine tuna which was allegedly contaminated · · · · - SPECIAL PROBLEMS ARISING OUT OF°THE INCIDENT The mishap' to the Fukuryu Maru created a number of separate but interrelated problems Of these the most urgent was the clinical status of the 23 fishermen a subject with which Dr ·· •iorton is exclusively concerned and about which he will report Gparately Other problems which require attention were 1 Contaminated Tuna I 'I _ 0 1d · 2 Apprehension of long-range contamination ·or Japan its fishing grounds 3 Radiological factors affecting the fishermen _ a Estirr ting the whole body dose b Estirr ted dose from internal emitters Contaminated Tt1-11a Sane of the Jap2nese Goverru ent officials are alreadl referring to the latter half of 1farch as the great tuna panic ' The origin of this panic both in the United States and Japan is 11orthy of careful study The extent to which the tuna consumption in the United States and Japan declined during the second half of • arch is not kno'hn to r e at this time For a day prior to r y departure from r ew York on March 19 and for 2 weeks following my arrival 1n Tokyo on March 22 the subject or radioactive tuna as a subJect o popular conversation When one considers - ' -Wl F IDE NIIAL - - the reaction of the informed American public to the possibili ties of contamination of tuna it is not surprising that the Japan-· ese were stampeded into apprehension over the immediate prospects of their eating radioactive tUl a and the long-range prospects of their fishing grounds being ruined A Tuna Fishing Industry of Japan Y The Japanese fishing fleet at the present time consists of about 1 000 vessels operating out-of ten major ports The annual value of the tuna_ catch approximates $26 million The principal export species is_ albacor Sixty percent of the landed· albacor catch went to Japanese canners and forty percent was shipped ab oad in freezers Sixty percent of the albacor are r1ught in t e summer season which extends from May through July · Luring this• season the fishing grounds are located relativelY close to the Asiatic coast _ • During the winter months January through arch the Japanese vessels range far out to sea The winter season accounts for· forty percent or the annual catch · B Contaminated Tuna in Jaoan The Fukuryu Maru landed at Yaizu with a catch of 28 1 000 pounds of tuna We must accept the fact that these tuna were -' · excessively contaminated and that the decision of the Japanese to dispose of these fish was a wise one There is reason to be- · lieve that contamination was confined to the surface or· the· -· fish and occurred when the radioactive ashes fell and entered the ship 1 s hold _ With the decision of the United St tes Food and Drug Adreinistration to monitor incoming shipments or tuna the ship ing companies operating out or Japan initiated a requirement that - · - 1e Japanese certify export shipments as being free of radio- _ · · tivity When I arrived in Japan on March 22 the Japanese had a1 -· 8ady monitored their first outgoing shipment of frozen tuna • ·rrie Ministry of Welfare undertook to have its sanitation 1nspec- · t ors trained in the use of geiger counters and began the routine i1 spection of both incoming and outgoing tuna at five ports • '- ll vessels were instructed to return to one of these ports ' ve geiger counters were obtained from the Far East Command a d loaned to the Japanese In addition they mustered approx1rr tely the same number from various sources in Japan On l• arch 24 at a confer·ence with the Japanese Government· officials they asked for my recor rtendation for r aximum permissible co tamination They also asked that I recommend the kind of exarn 1r ation that should be rrdde of the fish · Because of my unfawiliarity with the mechanical details of handling tuna ship ents I suggested that I be permitted to study tuna loading operations scheduled for the following day There 7 • upon it was arranged that I should acccrr pany Japanese officials to_ Yokohar a where the B tan was being loaded with frozen albaco r • _-_ Y An excellent report of technical inforffiation about the Japanes9 · tuna fisheries in Japan is Report Ho 104 issued by the Natural Resources Section of SCAP 1n· l• arch 1948 · · ·_ -• ·• i 8JWiDE i ff B _ ' -' -- · Tuna -shipments involve many fish and it is not an· eas·y rna tter to monitor properly with inexperienced personnel and only·· a few survey instruments Based on my inspection of the Batan _ I suggested that every tenth fish be monitored for about l ' minute by passing an open window GM probe over the surface ot the fish paying particular attention to the gills I also ·· · instructed them to insert the probe into the mouth of the tuna and into the abdominal incision through the fish There remained the question of criteria ror rejection ot fish found to be contaminated Again it is not a simple matter to evaluate the risk to a consumer of tuna from measurements made in this way I informed the Japanese that I was unable · _ to propose a realistic figure without some study On the other · _ l nd it wae my belief that significantly contaminated fish were· - · · -_ · r 0t likely to be found Low level fall out to the skins of' the - fish was of course a possibility This seemed tobeof little ·· significance in view of exi ting cannery practices which strips· _ · · the skins from the fish when processing begins I told the- - _· Japanese I would be standing by in Tokyo that they should con-_ tinue to monitor the fish by the method I proposed and that · r when and if contaminated fish were found I should be advised and given the opportunity immediately to make a first hand in- _0 · spection of the fish My recommendations w6uld depend on what I found • · __ No contaminated tuna have· been brought· to· iny - ttenticm -- _ Newspapers have occasionally reported incoming shipments of con ·_ taminated fish but the J' apanese had not requested that I make an • _ · examination of them • • The following sequence of_even s illustrates some of the difficulties we have had 1 On March 31 we read in one of the Tokyo English language r 2wspapers of two fishing vessels that were contaminated The F nbassy called the lriinistry of Foreign Affairs who reported the· ollowing information by telephone a The Koei f•iaru then at the port of Misakt' was at ·9 degrees 22 minutes north 178 degrees 19 minutes east on· liar-ch -1 The surface of the ship was reading 2443 counts per minute the catch 155 counts per minute and the men 500 counts er minute The fish had been impounded awaiting a decision as·· to their safety · b The r- yoJ11m Maru was at Shiogone On 11 3 rch · 1 it was t 29 degrees 8 minutes northi 177 cegrees 19 minutes east 7he surface of the ship was reading 50 to 400 counts per minute the fish 56 to 84 counts per minute and the crew 40 to 90 counts_· pe r rr inute 2 The Embassy inforn ed the z anistry of Welfare ot' my interest in seeing the ships and fish and told them a special plane i· ould be available to f'ly rne to the two ports T'ne Foreign Office -as requested to arrange for access to the vessels and was invited _ · to send whoever they wished to designate with me on this trip • · · ·- A flight was scheduled for early on the morning of Ap1 11 2 _ -·_ - · · _• - · - ' _ 9€iil IDEIJIIAL - • ·· - - -· •• •• - - · · 3 Around noon on April 1 the Foreign Mi istry called _ the Embassy and advised that the Myojiim Maru had left Shiogone that morning that its destination was not known and that the fish had been disposed of in an unknown manner The Embassy informed the Foreign Ministry that this being the case we would limit _our trip to Misaki - _ •• -' -- - - - 4 At 4 PM on the afternoon of April 1 the Foreign Ministry again called to inform the Embassy that the Koei Maru had left the port of Misak1 one hour before to dump its contaminated catch at sea The Embassy asked the Foreign Ministry to call the vessel back inasmuch as it was only one hour off port but the Japanese stated this could not be accomplished · - ' _ To 'st 91marize the tuna situation it is my belief that no·· · ·_ significantly contaminated tuna have arrived in Japan except for the catch from the Fukuryu Maru Rigorous_inspections pro- cedures will undoubtedly disclose certain amounts of low level radioactivity on the surface of the tuna but the significance of this is minimized by the practice of skinning tuna prior to canning In the meantime the tuna market has stabilized ang tuna representatives or American tuna interests have _informed_ ne that their companies are no longer concerned over the problem • I Apprehension or Long Range Contamination of Japan and · its Fishing Grounds Japanese apprehensions over the possibility of long range radiological contamination were very similar to those we en-· countered in the United States as a result of NPG operations _ ' ·' - - A di l erence in Japan is due to the fact that none it any of the counting equipment is calibrated GM tubes are used without shields and under conditions where the background count• is apt to be highly variable This coupled witli the fact that -· they do not know the background activities of such things as - soil and biological materials makes it very difricult to evaluate t -ie reports Hany of the reports of ash falling in various -· parts of Japan are undoubtedly dust or soot falls that occur · ormally_in any industrial area from time to time Reputable scientists have examined samples of potass1un- ich soil and have· reported their data in gross counts without any reference to · ncr· ial soil background For this reason I find it very difi'icult to take serious the frequent public report oi' 50 to 100 counts per minute for the unspecified size of samples reported from tine to time · I At my conference with the Japan scientists and govern ent officials on arch 24 I explained the procedures we use in the States for ceasuring fallout I urged them to use similar procedures for the sake of uniformity and offered to loan them the equiprr ent we used They seemed eager to accept and I requested 4 sets of equipment which has since arrived from the States · Ho - ever since the arrival of this equipnent I have delayed giving it to the Japanese because in fuelr present state of mind little good could come of it I do believe however that when· the present confusion subsides it will be useful for the 1apanes·e to maintain a i'all out monitoring network and I think we should coo erate with them to the fullest extent - · · · ·· • • -Mm 55 i m int- ' '- I _· 4 - · · - - r In a -conference with Dr Kobayoshi on March 26 I in- - • formed him of my conversation with Dr Bugher_and his offer 1n ·-- · · · behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission to provide financial · · _ -- · · -· support for rr rine biological studies directed at the long range · - contamination or t e Pacific Dr Kobayosh1 through his · - '· interpreter expressed his appreciation for this offer but · did not pursue the matter further and has not approached me since ·J With regard to fallout on the Japanese islands themselves it is to be remembered that the position of these islands 1n relation to possible sites of weapons testing is such that the Russian testing program is apt to produce more fallout than events in the fr arshalls or Nevada Estimating the Whole Body Dose I doubt that it will be possible to make a satisfactory · estimate of either the Beta or Gamma dose the fishermen received · · _ We know that the ash fell in such quantities that the deck of the ship became white and there was sufficient material to ' develop visible footprints Unfortunately this 1s the limit of our information on how much ash fell and how long it remained • on the ship The fishermen washed the decks in order to remove - · · ' · the ash and according to their reports their washing was effective· - · - When the vessel arrived in Yaizu much of what re ained lias re_-· ·· - - -·- · moved · - •· ·-- · • ·_-· ··· - ·--·• - ·- - _· - - - - •· Measurements mad by various investigators a·uring th 'period· _· - between March 20-26 are in agreement It is curious that the Beta· - Garuna ratio is about l This would indicate that the bulk of the ash· had by this time penetrated to the porous wood structure or the deck thus absorbing the Betas The Gamma radiation over most of the ship was approximately 40 m r per hour when the ship arrived in port If we extrapolate this back to H 3 hours 1 the time - · he ash began to fall 1 the integrated Gamma doae is about 100 R Jf course the ash was falling t'rom H plus 3 hours to about H plus 9 hours If we take the mid-point of this period as the start· f exposure we find the exposure is about 70 R · This 1 however stir ates the whole body Ganura radiation from residual debris still on the sh1o when ·the f'irst measurements were r ade The cc ual dose could have been 2 10 or even 100 times higher depending on how much ash was washed off the ship and at what time ' He have made a number 9f discreet inquiries in the hopes that photographic film might have been·available aboard the ship and might possibly be used as a dosimeter • All efforts to date h ve been negative Deoosition of Internal Emitters There - as an ·ur£ent requirement to evaluate the extent to h1ch fission products had been absorbed into the tissues or the f1 sherw m As mentioned earlier Dr 1 akaidzurni had ·concluded· f o his mouse experir lent that the prognosis for the fishermen was E dversely affected by the probability of excessive deposition of - · long-lived bone-seeking isotopes The Japanese scientists were ' · · I desperately looking ror an agent to mobilize thes isotopes and· · _ -· - I' -- _#_ --- -· · • • • 4 ·- ·- t _ · ' ---· -- ·· Dr Lewis believes that they had administered EDTA to the patients· ··· despite the fact that urine analysis was beyond their capability'_ • ·· and they were therefore unable to determine either the need for ·_- ED rA or the effect produced by it · Apart from the fact that they - were unable to undertake urine analysis at that time it is also ·_evident that they did not understand the dynamics of fission · · ' product metabolism and were not used to thinking in terms ot '· · - -urinary excretion levels as an index of absorption and depos11 1on · · · They were anxious to provide me with samples of ·urine for_ State-side analysis· Two samples were delivered on March 26 and ·_·_ · · - five more on March 30 As yet we have not received samples from the remaining 16 patients The samples received were properly ______ s forwarded to the Health and Safety Laboratory and I have had the ·- - - · · results of gross analysis of the first two samples I conununicated · - t 1ese resu te to Dr Kobayashi in the attached letter which is · • · · ••· self-explanatory - - _ -_ ' -- · - · •• I - ' 1 •• · · i lL 1iiiF$IQ I -· ANNEX TO ENCLOSURE THE FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE - l -· UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 6 April 1954 • Dr Rokuzo Kobayashi National Institute of Health i 'elfare Mlnistry 0KYO · f - - · • Dear Dr Kobayashi On March 26 we received two samples- of urine from pa tients at the Tokyo University Hospital I am happy to be able to report at this time that the radioactivity of these samples is so low that· the deposits of fission products in the tissues of the two patients can be accepted as well within the limits of safety The results follow · · HASUDA Sanjiro YAMAMOTO Tadash1 -- 720 disintegrations per minute per ·' · '· · liter _ _ ·_ --- 510 disintegrations per minute per a_· • - -· · • ·• liter -- --· --- _ · •·- -· ' Data on the individ al radio-isotopes will b telegraphed to me in another few days It will then be possible for me to be more quantitative in estimating the dose from absorbed fission products However 1t is most certain that the storage of long-lived radio isotopes is insignificant in these men · As you know the rate of excretion of fission products at any iven time after absorption bears a relationship to the quantities eposited in the various tissues The principal radiochemical constituents at this time are due to Sr89 La140 and the Rare arths These are isotopes which have relatively short half-11ves and are eliminated from the body with comparative rapidity either by radioactive decay or excretion In the case of these patients 3 90 is most certainly an insignificant _fraction of the total _ 2bsorbed radioactivity The permissible urinary excretion considering the isotopes involved would be greater by a large factor than the values reported above • I note that the newspapers continue to carry occasional st te ents of the Japanese investigators to the effect that the pro nosis for the fisherr en is adversely affected by the fact that long-life bone-seeking isotopes are deposited in their tissues It 1s regrettable that the public continues to be misinforc ed in this respect Certainly the results reported above E rgue convincingly that only minimal r edically insignificant · _ E ounts of fission products have been absorbed into the tissues of the two patients for whom results are available - - - · · • - l · J epartment pt En rgy -- · - -' i 81@1 fl J JO l b fr - - I regret that I am unable to give you the results of analyses · · of urine from the 21 other patients Knowing that these data would - be highly important to your committee in its evaluations of the • medical status ·or these patients we have offered to undertake radiochemical urine analysis of all 23 patients The urine from only two patients has been delivered t·o_ us in time to permit _ shipment to the States and analysis by this date More recently samples from five additional patients from the Tokyo University Hospital were delivered to us but we have not as yet received samples from the 16 · patients now hos pi tali zed at the Daiichi ·-Hospital • Respectfully 101 r e Merril isenbud Director Health and Safety Laboratory United States Atomic Energy· Commission - l · • Denartment of EneraY · - - - - - - - --- •--- - • --•- - - --·r- -- -4 --- - - - -- • ° _ _ _ _ _ _ _ • r L iliflkll I Ae 160 140° I • I I _ ' l L- CHART tR UAP HO I I J i f tJ- i _ J -it at-_ ----------------------- --a----------------- ---------- THE ROOTE OR POSITION OF ' THE FUKU YU UARU 'JC ao1y-t CHART f '40 809 I I s i22 e 113-0 tl 1t- v N 22 1130 DEPARTED YAIZU 3Ji45050Q l f - li- UAR I OSOO A RRl'IEO YAIZU I I I t I I I • KA' I I ---------i---------------- --1 • Q HQW 30 ------ - ---- ----__ iw _________________ ____ 3-9 __ 0330 2-J 60300 _ ••• 22-6 §_QQ JW Q• 2-2 t-5 0330 fil 2 2·4 2-5 2-5 l IOO 2-ll 1510 T-ii 20 ----- •-- l700 ---- --------------- ----- 5 1550 1200 -------------------- - 5 4 I • ·i ' ' I • J yra •• 12 - 45°N I GUAtJl ------1r - 'i I IEHt OK I 00- · · - --e- ------ l • ' Lj r «1il-- _-- --------- --- --- - - •-- - I I 12 16 m -'-S --2-Zi _ - I r loX O 2·22 1230 2-eO kl'IAJALEIN ATOLL --· 'b -• ti' t I l200 16 0 l200 f' · POf APE I 1 - oAt GER zd · E w POSITION OF DISASTER 0 ·-- -----------------1'--------------I I I I I · FROM 1 AIDE I MEt OIRE OF MARCH 27 TIMES ARE JAPANESE SHIP REPORTED Tl E OF FLASH POSITION OF FUKURYU 'rltAE 0412 I l ARCH IS54 LOCAL OR SHiP'S TlllE MARU OF BU ---------------- 11• 53i N 166· 341 • WJE FALLOUT STARTED---------- --11• 56iN 166• 42tE • I TlllE FALLOUT STOPPED----- -------1 14 H I 1 1GG• 5l E c _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __