OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 325 



Normally operating nuclear submarines and nuclear surface ves- 

 sels generate low-level wastes in relatively small quantities. The de- 

 gree of control needed over the release of these wastes to the ocean 

 depends in large part on the ability of that environment to safely as- 

 similate the particular isotopes. It is important that the Navy and 

 the Commission investigate this now when the problem is a small 

 one. 



Nuclear powerplants are being used for production of electricity and 

 for research. The irradiated fuel elements from these reactors are 

 highly radioactive and will probably never be disposed to the ocean. 

 However, impurities in the water which may be used in cooling such 

 reactors may pick up a small amount of radioactivity by induction. In 

 this way small amounts of certain radioactive isotopes are in some 

 cases released into streams, depending again on the capacity of the 

 environment, and may eventually reach the ocean. 



Although much of the radioactivity in fallout from past testing of 

 nuclear devices will be chemically combined into the land portion of 

 the earth, a larger percentage should fall on the oceans, which comprise 

 about 70 percent of the earth's surface. Likewise, the fallout isotopes 

 may appear in fresh waters, be dissolved from soils and/or be con- 

 centrated in waste water from man or industry to eventually go down- 

 stream to the ocean, and in this way indirectly add more radioisotopes 

 to the sea. 



Although we are confident that early reports are correct that fall- 

 out isotopes are insignificant as diluted in sea water, it is necessary 

 to continue monitoring the oceans and to continue research leading 

 to complete elaboration of the oceanic processes that determine the 

 ultimate fate of the long-lived isotopes that may go through the food 

 web in the ocean and again become significant to man. 



Support of oceanography is largely dependent upon Federal funds, 

 and the research has been directed toward the programatic needs of 

 the sponsoring agency. Most of the Navy-sponsored research is re- 

 lated to naval operations and is not applicable to problems of AEC 

 interest. The Bureau of Commercial Fisheries program in oceanog- 

 raphy collects some data useful to the AEC from the standpoint 

 of location of sites for waste disposal, but seldom overlaps into the 

 primary interests of the AEC in the health and safety aspects of 

 irradiation. All AEC projects are considered from the standpoint 

 of their relationship to the oceanographic programs of other agen- 

 cies with which we work closely. 



Contracts for research and services have been let jointly with the 

 Office of Naval Research, with the National Science Foundation, with 

 the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and with the Maritime Ad- 

 ministration for various types of projects, sometimes to be carried 

 out by cooperation with the Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Public 

 Health Service, the U.S. National Museum, the Bureau of Com- 

 mercial Fisheries or other governmental agencies. Naval ships and 

 other vessels have often gathered samples for AEC analysis. 



Although the Commission has a general interest, as described above, 

 in the potential use of the ocean for disposal of wastes, it is unlikely 

 that other than very minor use will be made of the ocean in this 

 manner. The economics of disposal of wastes seem to point clearly 

 to the use of land disposal sites. In any case the high level and con- 



