328 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



distribution. Horizontal and vertical currents may transport the iso- 

 topes until they reach a water density level that temporarily or semi- 

 permanently stabilizes them. Diffusion processes tend to equally dis- 

 tribute the added elements among those already present. Aligrating- 

 animals ingest the particles, excrete them, die, or are eaten by other 

 animals to modify the tendency toward homogeneity of distribution. 

 Some of the radioactive elements are needed by organisms and, be- 

 cause the normal elemental supply is low, these radiochemicals are 

 concentrated, perhaps 1 million times over their abundance in sea 

 water. In other words, if the organism living in the sea has a physio- 

 logical demand for an element that cannot be satisfied by the elements 

 which are already present in the sea, and a radioisotope of this ele- 

 ment is added to the sea, then naturally the organism will take up the 

 radioisotope of this element. 



Other elements are avoided or discriminated against by organisms. 

 Sedimentation processes may carry heavier elemental particles, ad- 

 sorbed radiochemicals and dead organisms with contained radio- 

 nuclides toward the bottom of the sea where they may be permanently 

 incorporated into the sediments or removed by bottom-feeding 

 organisms. 



Since research in these subject fields often requires ocean trips of 

 some magnitude, such research is costly. The Connnission is spend- 

 ing approximately $300,000 on a minimum program which we propose 

 to expand during fiscal year 11)60. 



A third objective of the Commission in oceanography is to maintain 

 a control and monitoring program to assure that the utilization of 

 atomic energy has not resulted in dangerous contamination of the 

 environment. " As has been previously mentioned, the Commission has 

 made oceanograpliic surveys of the Pacific test site before and after 

 each test series. Samples are also collected between testing programs 

 as practical. A large collection of organisms was taken from the 

 central Pacific before any testing was initiated. The Xavy and the 

 Commission have provided these organisms for the Smithsonian In- 

 stitution to assemble and identify and make them available for com- 

 parison with samples collected later. 



Biological samples of organisms from Thailand, Japan, Palau, 

 Guam, and other sites have been taken frequently to document the 

 distribution of radioactive isotopes from the Pacific. Samples of 

 ocean water from the north and south Atlantic Ocean, from the Arctic 

 and Antarctic Oceans, and from the Indian Ocean have been ana- 

 lyzed for radioactive isotopes to provide data on the minute quantities 

 of isotopes present in the oceans from fallout. In some cases 150 

 gallons of water must be collected in order to locate from 1 to oO dis- 

 integrations per minute of strontium 90 — present as one part per 

 billion billion parts of water. 



I)i'. Wallen wishes to point out here that the amount of contami- 

 nation that is added to the water can be detected by radiochemical 

 means, but actually in quantity, that is, in weight, it is an extremely 

 small part of the ocean water. 



Since by weight 1,000 grams of sea water normally contain an aver- 

 age of 34 grams of dissolved materials of at least 44 elements, it is 

 no easy chore to identify luid measure accurately the trace amounts 

 of radiochemicals that appear in the water. The production of radio- 

 chemicals from some individual detonations can be identified, iiow- 



