Argonne at 50

Atomic-rain victims pass tests in Argonne 'iron room'

ARGONNE, Ill. (April 7, 1996) — The date is April 7, 1957, a chilly Sunday in Chicago. Seven visitors to Argonne National Laboratory from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean have settled down in the lab's Guest House for a rare treat -- an evening of television.

Their choices include such favorites as Jack Benny, Steve Allen, Bob Hope, and Ed Sullivan. But the Marshall Islanders, who have come to Chicago so the radioactivity in their bodies can be measured in Argonne's "iron room," opt for a cowboy movie.

The Marshall Islands, part of Micronesia, is a ring of 34 small islands and atolls in the South Pacific. A German protectorate until it was taken over by Japan in World War I, the Marshalls were captured by the United States in World War II.

After the war, the United States needed sites to test and improve its developing nuclear arsenal. In 1947, the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) established "proving grounds" in the South Pacific.

The first in the series of nuclear tests, known as Operation Castle, was conducted at Bikini Atoll, 2,500 miles southwest of Honolulu. The atoll lies in the path of a reasonably predictable Pacific wind system; in winter and spring, winds are light and storms unusual. In advance of the first Operation Castle detonation, called Bravo, inhabitants were evacuated to other atolls to protect them from nuclear blasts and radiation.

At 6:45 a.m. on March 1, 1954, Bravo was detonated. Its energy and heat carried upward in a 100,000-foot cloud and its radioactive materials fell quickly to earth.

But the wind had shifted.

The upper wind carried the Bravo dust cloud across the Pacific in an unexpected direction -- east toward the inhabited atolls and a Japanese fishing boat, the unsuspecting Fukuryu Maru.

Inhabitants of two islands 110 miles away were caught in the rain of radioactive dust -- the 239 people who lived on Rongelap and Utirik.

The largest group affected -- 64 men, women, and children on Rongelap -- received 175 roentgens of penetrating radiation, then considered a sub-lethal dose. But their symptoms were disturbing -- skin lesions, hair loss, depressed blood counts. Three years later, six of the affected Marshall Islanders were brought to Argonne for follow-up examinations; a seventh, unaffected Marshallese was brought along to provide a comparison.

Argonne had pioneered development of the world's most sensitive equipment for measuring radioactivity in the human body. Its "iron room" had foot-thick steel walls to shut out natural radiation.

Each man was counted during 50-minute sessions. William Allen, the unaffected "control," was also the group's interpreter. He spoke excellent English and was an expert in the Marshallese language -- a mixture of German, Spanish and French.

"The men seemed at ease while being counted," said Charles Miller, who headed the Argonne tests. "FM radio music was piped into the room and the interpreter could talk with them via an intercom system."

When asked if they were comfortable in the iron room, each invariably answered, "Jawohl!"

And they were healthy. Levels of radioactivity within their bodies were determined to be well within those universally considered safe.

During their six-day stay, the Marshall Islanders lived at Argonne's Guest House (now Freund Lodge) and ate at the lab's two cafeterias. Before arriving, suits and overcoats were rented in Hawaii ... and so were shoes, which they did not like.

Sightseeing included visits to the Museum of Science and Industry and to the top of the Prudential Building, then Chicago's tallest. They wanted to see snow and, this being a Chicago April, they did. Television fascinated them, especially Westerns.

Soon however, the cold weather lost its charm.

On Tuesday, April 9, the day after the Argonne tests were concluded, the seven Marshall Islanders returned to their South Pacific home. On the way, they stopped over in Honolulu to explore the sights and to return their rented winter wear.

For more information, please contact Catherine Foster (630/252-5580 or cfoster@anl.gov) at Argonne.