548 



Preface 



The main aim of RW disposal at sea has been to isolate these hazardous wastes from man's 

 habitat for a sufficient period for physical decay of radionuclides. 



The disposal of liquid and solid RW has been performed by many countries with nuclear 

 fleets and nuclear industries. 



The accumulation of RW dumped at sea and accidents on nuclear-powered ships and nuclear 

 submarines (NS's) is causing growing concern in the world community, and serious claims are 

 being addressed to the former USSR, and now to Russia. 



It should be noted that the first press reports on the former Soviet Union's practice of 

 dumping RW in northern seas appeared in publications by activists in the ecological movement 

 Toward a New Earth. A. A. Zolotkov, an engineer in the radiation safety service of the Murmansk 

 Maritime Shipping Line, played a leading role here. Because no official confirmations or denials 

 were made, the international organization Greenpeace held a briefing on the subject in Moscow in 

 September 1991 and prepared material, for presentation to the 15th Consultative Meeting of 

 members of the London Convention (November 1992), on the need to correct the IAEA list on 

 RW dumped at sea to account for available unofficial reports. The material included maps of dis- 

 posal sites and fragmentary, sometimes erroneous data on cases of RW disposal in northern seas 

 by the former USSR. 



This White Paper consists of four sections that examine international aspects of the problem 

 of RW disposal at sea, present and analyze factual data, examine radioecological conditions and 

 formulate conclusions. 



The Appendix presents all data obtained by the Commission on RW disposal in northern and 

 far eastern seas. 



The White Paper does not contain data on the characteristics, time or sites of underwater, sur- 

 face, or above-water nuclear explosions in the waters of the Kara and Barents Seas. It is known, for 

 example, that explosions were produced in Chemaya Bay in connection with a study of the possible 

 destruction of enemy warships in closed harbors. A small number of nuclear explosions was evidently 

 produced slightly above the surface of the Barents Sea northwest of Matochkin Shar Strait. There is 

 eyewitness testimony to the production of underground nuclear explosions. In all these cases, some 

 fraction of radioactive materials must have entered the sea. Knowing the characteristics of the nuclear 

 explosions, we can calculate the amount of activity and the spectrum of radionuclides that entered the 

 sea. 



Another possible source of radioactive contamination not considered by the Commission is ra- 

 dionuclides formed from nuclear explosions on Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Recent data (J. Scorve, J. 

 K. Slogan, 1992) show that at a test site near the town of Sevemy, 5 of 28 detonations produced cra- 



^ — In accordance with established practice in the White Paper, radioactive waste is understood to mean both liquid 

 radioactive waste (circulating water from ship nuclear reactors, flushing and deactivation water, and domestic 

 sewage from special lines), and solid waste (reactors with reactor fuel in place and reactor components with in- 

 duced radioactivity, wastes produced when ships and vessels were repaired or damaged, nuclear warheads tliat 

 have been lo'st or have accidentally fallen into the sea, and other radioactive objects). 

 According to the customary classification, radioactive wastes are divided into; 



low-level less than 100 kBq/I (26 (iCi/l); 



intermediate-level more than 100 kB<i/l (26 nCi/1); 



high-level more than 15 GBq/1 (0.4 Ci/1). — P. Rubtsov 



