OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



MONDAY, JULY 13, 1959 



House of Representatives, 

 Subcommittee on Oceanography of the 

 Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 



Washington, D.C. 



The subcommittee met at 10 a.m., in room 429, Old House Office 

 Building, Hon. George P. Miller (chairman of the subcommittee) 

 presiding. 



Mr. Miller. The committee will be in order. 



This is a meeting of the Subcommittee on Oceanography of the 

 House Committee of Merchant Marine and Fisheries. 



We are met this morning as the result of a report gotten out by the 

 Committer on Oceanography of the National Academy of Sciences on 

 the radioactive waste disposal into the Atlantic and gulf coastal 

 waters, and other occanographic activity. 



The first witness I want to call on this morning is Hon. Thomas N, 

 Downing, of Virginia. 



I want to say before you start, for the benefit of the witnesses, that 

 when this report was circulated, many of the people from the coastal 

 areas, such as Mr. Downing, became very much concerned with it, and 

 rightfully so. 



We have therefore asked them to be here to give us their views or 

 express their apprehension relative to the subject of the disposal of 

 radioactive waste. 



Mr. Downing. 



STATEMENT OF HON. THOMAS N. DOWNING, A REPRESENTATIVE 

 IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF VIRGINIA 



Mr. Downing. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and gentle- 

 men. 



My name is Thomas N. Downing. I represent the First Congres- 

 sional District of Virginia. 



This district includes the entire eastern seaboard of Virginia from 

 Maryland on the north down to North Carolina on the south. 



It includes portions of the Chesapeake Bay and the tributaries of 

 many rivers. 



I do not have a prepared statement, Mr. Chairman. I just want to 

 give the committee my thoughts and express my concern over the 

 recent suggestions of the National Research Council that certain sites 

 along the Atlantic seaboard be used as possible dumping sites for 

 atomic waste materials. 



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