Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
    • Front Matter Portal
    • Journal Club
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
  • Submit
  • About
    • Editorial Board
    • PNAS Staff
    • FAQ
    • Accessibility Statement
    • Rights and Permissions
    • Site Map
  • Contact
  • Journal Club
  • Subscribe
    • Subscription Rates
    • Subscriptions FAQ
    • Open Access
    • Recommend PNAS to Your Librarian

User menu

  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Home
Home
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Special Feature Articles - Most Recent
    • Special Features
    • Colloquia
    • Collected Articles
    • PNAS Classics
    • List of Issues
  • Front Matter
    • Front Matter Portal
    • Journal Club
  • News
    • For the Press
    • This Week In PNAS
    • PNAS in the News
  • Podcasts
  • Authors
    • Information for Authors
    • Editorial and Journal Policies
    • Submission Procedures
    • Fees and Licenses
  • Submit
Research Article

Measurement of background gamma radiation in the northern Marshall Islands

Autumn S. Bordner, Danielle A. Crosswell, Ainsley O. Katz, Jill T. Shah, Catherine R. Zhang, Ivana Nikolic-Hughes, Emlyn W. Hughes, and Malvin A. Ruderman
  1. aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  2. bICF International, Durham, NC 27713;
  3. cDepartment of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  4. dDepartment of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027

See allHide authors and affiliations

PNAS June 21, 2016 113 (25) 6833-6838; first published June 6, 2016; https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1605535113
Autumn S. Bordner
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
bICF International, Durham, NC 27713;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Danielle A. Crosswell
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ainsley O. Katz
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jill T. Shah
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Catherine R. Zhang
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Ivana Nikolic-Hughes
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
cDepartment of Chemistry, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Emlyn W. Hughes
aK1 Project, Center for Nuclear Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027;
dDepartment of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: ewh42@columbia.edu mar@astro.columbia.edu
Malvin A. Ruderman
dDepartment of Physics, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • For correspondence: ewh42@columbia.edu mar@astro.columbia.edu
  1. Contributed by Malvin A. Ruderman, May 5, 2016 (sent for review February 18, 2016; reviewed by Makis Petratos and Ernst Sichtermann)

  • Article
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Significance

Sixty-seven nuclear tests were conducted on two atolls in the northern Marshall Islands between 1946 and 1958. These tests produced radioactive fallout, which even today gives rise to radiation measurable above naturally occurring background levels. Rather than obtain new data, recent estimates of contamination levels in the northern Marshall Islands use measurements made decades ago to calculate present radiation levels. In contrast, we report on timely measurements on three different atolls, and also provide detailed fits and simulated maps across several islands, including the islands of Bikini and Rongelap. Bikini and Rongelap Islands are of particular interest as they are relevant to the discussion of human resettlement; indeed, our radiation values for Bikini Island are higher than those previously reported.

Abstract

We report measurements of background gamma radiation levels on six islands in the northern Marshall Islands (Enewetak, Medren, and Runit onEnewetak Atoll; Bikini and Nam on Bikini Atoll; and Rongelap on Rongelap Atoll). Measurable excess radiation could be expected from the decay of 137Cs produced by the US nuclear testing program there from 1946 to 1958. These recordings are of relevance to safety of human habitation and resettlement. We find low levels of gamma radiation for the settled island of Enewetak [mean = 7.6 millirem/year (mrem/y) = 0.076 millisievert/year (mSv/y)], larger levels of gamma radiation for the island of Rongelap (mean = 19.8 mrem/y = 0.198 mSv/y), and relatively high gamma radiation on the island of Bikini (mean = 184 mrem/y = 1.84 mSv/y). Distributions of gamma radiation levels are provided, and hot spots are discussed. We provide interpolated maps for four islands (Enewetak, Medren, Bikini, and Rongelap), and make comparisons to control measurements performed on the island of Majuro in the southern Marshall Islands, measurements made in Central Park in New York City, and the standard agreed upon by the United States and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) governments (100 mrem/y = 1 mSv/y). External gamma radiation levels on Bikini Island significantly exceed this standard (P = <<0.01), and external gamma radiation levels on the other islands are below the standard. To determine conclusively whether these islands are safe for habitation, radiation exposure through additional pathways such as food ingestion must be considered.

  • gamma radiation
  • nuclear testing
  • Marshall Islands
  • nuclear weapons
  • Bikini

Footnotes

  • ↵1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: ewh42{at}columbia.edu or mar{at}astro.columbia.edu.
  • Author contributions: A.S.B., D.A.C., A.O.K., C.R.Z., and E.W.H. performed research; A.S.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; A.S.B., D.A.C., J.T.S., C.R.Z., and E.W.H. analyzed data; A.S.B., I.N.-H., E.W.H., and M.A.R. wrote the paper; J.T.S., I.N.-H., E.W.H., and M.A.R. designed research.

  • Reviewers: M.P., Kent State University; and E.S., Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

  • The authors declare no conflict of interest.

  • This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/lookup/suppl/doi:10.1073/pnas.1605535113/-/DCSupplemental.

Freely available online through the PNAS open access option.

View Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top
Article Alerts
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on PNAS.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Measurement of background gamma radiation in the northern Marshall Islands
(Your Name) has sent you a message from PNAS
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the PNAS web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Marshall Islands gamma radiation
Autumn S. Bordner, Danielle A. Crosswell, Ainsley O. Katz, Jill T. Shah, Catherine R. Zhang, Ivana Nikolic-Hughes, Emlyn W. Hughes, Malvin A. Ruderman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2016, 113 (25) 6833-6838; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605535113

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Request Permissions
Share
Marshall Islands gamma radiation
Autumn S. Bordner, Danielle A. Crosswell, Ainsley O. Katz, Jill T. Shah, Catherine R. Zhang, Ivana Nikolic-Hughes, Emlyn W. Hughes, Malvin A. Ruderman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Jun 2016, 113 (25) 6833-6838; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1605535113
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Mendeley logo Mendeley

Article Classifications

  • Physical Sciences
  • Applied Physical Sciences
  • Biological Sciences
  • Environmental Sciences
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: 113 (25)
Table of Contents

Submit

Sign up for Article Alerts

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • Results and Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • Materials and Methods
    • Data Analysis
    • Acknowledgments
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & SI
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

You May Also be Interested in

Setting sun over a sun-baked dirt landscape
Core Concept: Popular integrated assessment climate policy models have key caveats
Better explicating the strengths and shortcomings of these models will help refine projections and improve transparency in the years ahead.
Image credit: Witsawat.S.
Model of the Amazon forest
News Feature: A sea in the Amazon
Did the Caribbean sweep into the western Amazon millions of years ago, shaping the region’s rich biodiversity?
Image credit: Tacio Cordeiro Bicudo (University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil), Victor Sacek (University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil), and Lucy Reading-Ikkanda (artist).
Syrian archaeological site
Journal Club: In Mesopotamia, early cities may have faltered before climate-driven collapse
Settlements 4,200 years ago may have suffered from overpopulation before drought and lower temperatures ultimately made them unsustainable.
Image credit: Andrea Ricci.
Steamboat Geyser eruption.
Eruption of Steamboat Geyser
Mara Reed and Michael Manga explore why Yellowstone's Steamboat Geyser resumed erupting in 2018.
Listen
Past PodcastsSubscribe
Birds nestling on tree branches
Parent–offspring conflict in songbird fledging
Some songbird parents might improve their own fitness by manipulating their offspring into leaving the nest early, at the cost of fledgling survival, a study finds.
Image credit: Gil Eckrich (photographer).

Similar Articles

Site Logo
Powered by HighWire
  • Submit Manuscript
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS Feeds
  • Email Alerts

Articles

  • Current Issue
  • Special Feature Articles – Most Recent
  • List of Issues

PNAS Portals

  • Anthropology
  • Chemistry
  • Classics
  • Front Matter
  • Physics
  • Sustainability Science
  • Teaching Resources

Information

  • Authors
  • Editorial Board
  • Reviewers
  • Subscribers
  • Librarians
  • Press
  • Site Map
  • PNAS Updates
  • FAQs
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Rights & Permissions
  • About
  • Contact

Feedback    Privacy/Legal

Copyright © 2021 National Academy of Sciences. Online ISSN 1091-6490