OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 341 



is 1,000 or 1,200 years and the half life of others is 625 years. So for 

 some future milleniums Uncle Sam is going to be stuck with this 

 waste that is hotter than a pistol. We are going to have to take care 

 of it. 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. Yes, sir ; I think in general this is a fair statement. 

 I do not see, personally, any escape from the long term cogiiizance over 

 these high level wastes by the Government. I should note that the 

 Coimnission is encouraging private industry to get into the chemical 

 reprocessing business. In the absence of such commercial operations, 

 it is making the arrangements I mentioned before. 



Mr. Miller. If they do, I hope we pass very stringent laws with 

 plenty of teeth in them. We would not want them to say that in the 

 interest of economy we cannot do this without affecting our capital 

 structure and our return. We must not allow them to wantonly dis- 

 pose of these things where they can be hazardous. That is not our 

 problem in this picture, but it is one with which I am concerned. 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. Certainly, in all these waste problems, high level 

 wastes particularly, it is quite obvious they will have to be handled 

 in a way that there will not be a deleterious effect on the public or 

 upon the resources and the long-term responsibilities — this is a 

 personal observation^ — would have to remain with the Government. 



Our record in the protection of the public and its resources in the 

 roughly 15 years of operation of the Atomic Energy Commission is 

 perhaps indication that it can be done. 



Mr. Miller. I have no criticism of the work done by the Atomic 

 Energy Commission and its people. I think it has been a great job. 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. Tliauk you. 



Mr. Miller. I think we are opening Pandora's box and we have 

 to be very careful. We do not know where all these things are going 

 to fly. We liave to be veiy careful that in the interest of doing it too 

 quickly we do not unleash a Frankenstein that will come back to 

 haunt the world in the future. 



I would like to ask a couple of questions now about low level wastes. 

 First you do dispose of some of this low level waste at sea. Do you 

 contract the disposal of that with private concerns such as barge com- 

 panies, that sort of thing ? 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. No, sir. At the present time the wastes evolved 

 from the Atomic Energy Commission operations are disposed at sea 

 through naval facilities. There are, however, I think some six or 

 seven licensed commercial waste disposers that are available to serv- 

 ice isotope users. 



Mr. ]\IiLLER. Dogs the Atomic Energy Commission regulate the use 

 and set down the rules for these private contractors and isotope users 

 or are they free to go where they want ? 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. Tliis is a little outside my bailiwick, but I know 

 they are all licensed and are subject to the licensing and regulatory re- 

 quirements and inspection. 



Mr. Miller. By whom ? 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. By the Atomic Energy Commission through the 

 Division of Licensing and Regulation and Inspection. 



Mr. Miller. We know where to go for that. I would like to get 

 into that field because I am very much concerned with it. I presume 

 those people, too, this same agency regulates the containerization and 

 how they are disposed of ; is that right ? 



