Measurements of Pb-210 and Po-210 in caribou, seal meat, lichen, and other foodstuffs used by Alaskan Eskimos show unusually high concentrations. These naturally occurring isotopes are concentrated in the Alaskan ecosystem, which results in the caribous receiving higher than "natural" levels of internal radiation, presumably for centuries. From this study, organ doses of approximately 350-450 mrad per year are calculated for the liver, kidney, and bone of caribou due to Po-210. This also corresponds with data from other investigators who found much higher levels of these same isotopes in Eskimos than in other U.S. residents. The significance of these findings is discussed in relationship to ICRP permissible body burdens, and it is postulated that these individuals might exceed the permissible values for nonoccupational exposures for certain periods, when the present body burdens of cesium-137 from nuclear weapon fallout are also taken into account.
Notes
From: Fortuine, Robert et al. 1993. The Health of the Inuit of North America: A Bibliography from the Earliest Times through 1990. University of Alaska Anchorage. Citation number 813.
Cited in: Fortuine, Robert. 1968. The Health of the Eskimos: a bibliography 1857-1967. Dartmouth College Libraries. Citation number 121.