104 



We have representatives from the environmental community — one to specifically 

 address issues involving the dumping of nuclear materials in the ocean, and another 

 to present information gathered about a broader range of pollutants and the mecha- 

 nisms that transport them around the Arctic. 



We have invited representatives of the North Slope Borough, the Inuit Circum- 

 polar Conference, and other representatives of the Native community to provide 

 their thoughts, and at the end of the day, we will hear fi-om a panel representing 

 an aUiance between the University of Alaska and a National Laboratory to set forth 

 some concrete ideas about the course of action that should be undertaken to address 

 some of these problems. 



A number of other agencies, governments and organizations, including Finland, 

 Iceland, the U.S. Department of Energy, the Arctic Marine Resources Commission, 

 the International Union for Circumpolar Health, the American Society for Circum- 

 polar Health, the Alaska Health Project and many others, have also submitted writ- 

 ten testimony. I invite anyone in the audience to feel fi-ee to do so as well. The hear- 

 ing record will be kept open for two weeks for the acceptance of additional public 

 testimony. 



We have a very full day, with many presentations. So without further delay, I'd 

 like to turn to Secretary Bohlen and get the hearing underway. 



STATEMENT OF CURTIS BOHLEN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 

 OCEANS, INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND SCI- 

 ENTIFIC AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF STATE 



Secretary Bohlen. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am indebted to 

 you for inviting me to testify today because I think this is a really 

 critical issue that has been ignored too long. And this is a mar- 

 velous opportunity for us to hear from various experts the state of 

 knowledge on this issue. 



As far back as the 1940's the Soviet Union used the Barents and 

 Kara Seas, in the vicinity of Novaya Zemlya, for dumping nuclear 

 wastes. According to recent articles in the Russian press, reporting 

 by environmental groups, and information from other sources, esti- 

 mates suggest that as much as several billion curies of liquid and 

 solid radioactive material may have been dumped, apparently with 

 no concern for the environmental consequences. According to those 

 same sources, somewhere between 10 to 15 nuclear submarine re- 

 actor cores as well as the mid section of the first nuclear icebreaker 

 Lenin, with three reactors, now lie on the sea floor in the Barents 

 and Kara Seas. Other reports suggest that the sea off the 

 Kamchatka Peninsula has also been a dumping ground. 



I think Mr. Gates will be able to give us much more detail on 

 that afterwards. 



The disposal of these radioactive materials and other toxic chem- 

 ical and heavy metal wastes into the rivers which flow into the 

 Arctic Ocean is of great concern to Russia's neighbors around the 

 Arctic rim. The dumping and disposal activities may represent a 

 serious environmental tlu-eat in the longer term. Unfortunately, all 

 too little is known about the propensity of those radioactive and 

 toxic wastes to spread throughout the Arctic. 



I want to emphasize the seriousness with which we in the State 

 Department and the whole U.S. government view these events. As 

 I said, Mr. Chairman, your hearing today is timely and provides an 

 opportunity to hear from both government and public witnesses 

 about what is known about this Arctic dumping. 



Ultimately it is Russia that must assume the responsibility for 

 rectifying these environmental issues. But that does not mean that 

 the United States can sit by and do nothing. We must and we are 



