181 



icebreaUcer Ii«nin . radLloact:lve was^a drxm disposals, and from 

 radioactivi'by r*lttas«d to th«s« seas from pollu-tion in northvard- 

 flowing Russian rivers* 



As notad abova, EP& is already wor]cing cooperatively with 

 the former Soviet Union's Ministry of Ecology on a research 

 initiative. The objective of this particular study is to 

 continue examijiing the movement and peirtitioning of radionuclides 

 resulting from the ^emobyl accident as they are carried from 

 the Dantibe and Dnepr river systems into the Nortrliem Black Sea. 

 The focus of the research is on the distribution and 

 concentration of radionuclides in water, sediment and biota. The 

 study is being conducted in cooperation with the Institute of 

 Biology of the Southern Seas (XBSS) , Sevastopol, Ukraine. A. 

 second joint survey is currently underway In the Black Sea. 



On ifay 13, 1992, 6P& representatives net with the Executive 



Secretary of the U.S. -Russia Bilateral Agreement, Russian 



Ministry of Ecology, to disoiss future cooperative studies and 



the status of work under the. study described above. The 



participants in these discussions agreed that EPA could expand 



its cooperative stodies pertaining to the protection of marine 



ecosysteas with appropriate Russian partners. It is expected 



that any of these activities would be performed within existihg 



resources. Areas for mutual cooperation could include: 



• Establlshaent of a joint "inter calibration" program for 

 measurement of environmental samples from sites in 

 Russia contaminated by disposal of nuclear %raste and by 

 accidental releases of radioactive materials. 



