A portable crystal type of whole body counter was used to measure the cesium-137 content of Eskimos at five villages. The Eskimos cooperated willingly; in some communities nearly everyone accepted the invitation to be counted. This table presents the results:
| Cesium-137 (in nanocuries) | ||||
| Village | Number of subjects | Minimum | Maximum | Average |
| Diomede | 12 | 8 | 35 | 22 |
| Barrow | 259 | 8 | 166 | 51 |
| Point Hope | 107 | 3 | 119 | 17 |
| Kotzebue | 132 | 17 | 518 | 138 |
| Anaktuvuk | 52 | 83 | 719 | 421 |
(For comparison, the average body burden of cesium-137 of residents of Richland, Washington, during this period was between 5 and 7 nanocuries.)
These data show that the Eskimos who lived inland at Anaktuvuk and ate heavily of caribou meat carried cesium-137 burdens up to 20 times greater than Eskimos who lived in the four villages along the coast and had more variety in their food. (See pages [18] and [19] for photo story of a similar project in Finland.)
PROTECTION OF LABORATORY PERSONNEL
For chemists or others working with arsenic, cyanide, or other chemical poisons, safety depends on recognizing the materials and keeping them where they belong. When accidents do happen and poisons are swallowed or breathed in, successful treatment requires that someone find out exactly what and how much of the poisonous material was involved.
In the event of accidents in nuclear laboratories or reactors, it would be equally essential to identify accurately and quickly the quantity and kind of unstable nuclides the victim has absorbed. A reactor accident conceivably could add a unique hazard since neutron radiation might change the normally stable, nonradioactive atoms in the bodies of nearby workers into radioactive ones. Even gold or silver fillings in their teeth might become radioactive.
Figure 13 A portable whole body counter used for research as well as routine monitoring of personnel in an atomic reactor installation. Usually gamma-emitting radionuclides can be detected in 10 minutes. This counter is in almost constant use at the AEC’s National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho.
When human tissue (for example, hair) is bombarded by fast neutrons, sulfur atoms in molecules of proteins are converted to the radionuclide phosphorus-32. In atomic shorthand, this reaction is: