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Senator MuRKOWSKi. Well, as you might imagine, these hearings 

 are designed to hear from the witnesses, so I will conclude. We 

 have a full day with many presentations. So without further delay, 

 I'd like to introduce Secretary Bohlen and initiate the hearing. 



Dr. Bohlen, please proceed with your statement. 



[The prepared statement of Senator Murkowski follows:] 



STATEMENT OF U.S. SENATOR FRANK H. MURKOWSKI 



The fall of the Soviet regime has resulted in an outpouring of information about 

 the practices and activities of the Former Soviet Union. 



Earlier this year, the Senate Intelligence Committee began to receive reports from 

 environmental and nuclear scientists in Russia detailing reckless nuclear waste dis- 

 posal practices, nuclear accidents, and uses of nuclear detonations that I frankly 

 found astonishing. 



Also troubling is the fact that 15 Chemyobyl-style RBMK nuclear power reactors 

 continue to operate in the Former Soviet Union. These reactors lack a containment 

 structure, and they are designed in such a way that a nuclear reaction can actually 

 increase when the reactor overheats. As scientists here at the University of Alaska 

 and elsewhere have documented in their study of "Arctic Haze," the polar aiir mass 

 and prevailing weather patterns provide a pathway for radioactive contaminants 

 from eastern Europe and western Russia where many of these reactors are located. 



The threats presented by these potential radioactive risks are just a part of a 

 larger Arctic pollution problem. Everyday industrial activities of the Former Soviet 

 Union continue to create pollutants. Let's face it, in a country struggling for its eco- 

 nomic survival, environmental protection isn't necessarily the highest priority — and 

 that could be troubling news for the Arctic. 



The Arctic is the principal source of food for many Alaskans. Small amounts of 

 heavy metals — possibly from industrial pollution or "Arctic haze" — are already mak- 

 ing their way into walrus and other marine mammals that feed many arctic resi- 

 dents. Will radionuclides follow? Do we have the monitoring mechanisms in place 

 to warn us should this occur? Can we address, through bilateral and multilateral 

 mechanisms, the need to halt the spread and promote the cleanup of these pollut- 

 ants? Who has the talent and capability to do this kind of work? These are all im- 

 portant questions we hope to explore today. 



Today's hearing, whicn is the first ever field hearing of the Select Committee on 

 Intelligence, will hear from a remarkable list of witnesses in effort to explore these 

 issues from several different perspectives. 



Because this is an international problem, we've asked the Assistant Secretary of 

 State Curtis Bohlen, to give us the State Department's perspective. As a senior 

 member of the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee, Secretary Bohlen can 

 also tell us what can and should be done to scientifically assess the threats facing 

 the Arctic from these various pollutants. 



Director of Central Intelligence Robert Gates will provide us with an assessment 

 of both the nuclear activities of the Former Soviet Union and the role that the CIA 

 can and should play in the environmental area — not only in this area but in the 

 realm of global change and other environmental concerns. The CIA of the post-cold 

 war era is forging new ground in the area of environmental intelligence under the 

 leadership of Robert Gates, and we are pleased that he has chosen this occasion 

 here in Alaska to outline some of his new initiatives. 



Because many, including myself, have suggested that scientific and environmental 

 monitoring in the Arctic should be undertaken in collaboration with Russian sci- 

 entists, we've asked Donald O'Dowd, the Chairman of the Arctic Research Commis- 

 sion and the former President of the University of Alaska, to provide us with some 

 thoughts about the opportunities and problems involved in scientific cooperation 

 with the Russians. The Commission recently returned firom a series of meetings 

 with their counterparts in the Russian Academy of Sciences, so Dr. O'Dowd is 

 uniquely qualified to address this question. 



The nation's top official for oceanic and atmospheric research, Dr. Ned Ostenso, 

 will outline the programs that NOAA can bring to bear on this problem. One of the 

 Environmental Protection Agencj^'s top radiation and mixed waste experts, Admiral 

 Richard Guimond, will provide the EPA's perspective on these problems. 



We will also hear from a number of scientific and health experts — including some 

 who have come from Russia, Denmark, Norway and elsewhere — to provide informa- 

 tion based on their experience, research and monitoring. 



