super(137)Cs Contamination of Plants Used for Traditional Medicine and Implications for Human Exposure

An introductory overview is presented of the use of medicinal plants by practitioners of traditional medicine in the Marshall Islands. Data detailing the cesium 137 contents of plants used in these types of remedies are presented. This exposure pathway was recently identified as an important factor in determining the contemporary risks to the population of the Marshall Islands due to residual weapons' testing radioactivity lingering in the local environment. Samples of leaves and fruit from five species of plants were collected from 14 of the 29 atolls that comprise the Marshall Islands. In general, the level of radiological contamination observed in these samples decreased with distance from the region used for nuclear weapons testing. The highest mean concentrations of super(137)Cs were found in samples of Polypodium scolopendria.