OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 351 



Mr. Casey, were taken into consideration in their evaluation of the 

 situation and in the preparation of the report. 



AVliether it looks as if they were being undercautious because they 

 pointed out these specific areas perhaps is a question. It might well 

 have been, rather than putting the latitude and longitude of specific 

 areas, that could have been generalized. I can say that in our ap- 

 proach to this and in our preuse surveys, we are not chained to these 

 specific latitudes and longitudes. 



I think they were given for what seemed to me at least to be rea- 

 sonable technical grounds, and the detailed data which would be ob- 

 tained in the field surveys, which in essence would check their gen- 

 eral observation, need not be restricted to those specific areas. 



Mr. Lennon. How would you restrict or patrol these close offshore 

 areas where you dump this material? Would you buoy it? Would 

 you have to set buoys and restrict it and patrol it? 



Dr. LrEBERMAN. It certainly would be conceivable that these areas 

 would be marked on the hydrographic charts, and perhaps buoyed so 

 everyone would know what they were being used for. 



Mr. Lennon. Do you know anything about menhaden fishing? 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. I am afraid not, sir. 



Mr. Lennon. Or deep sea trawling for shrimp. They use ocean 

 seines. They drag the bottom of the ocean at that depth and that 

 far out all up and down the South Atlantic coast, especially off my 

 coast. 



If you were 20 miles offshore, as this report suggests that you would 

 be off Morehead, N.C., you would be right in the lane of the trawlers 

 for both menhaden and shrimp. I believe you would be picking up 

 tliese things every time you dragged the bottom. 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. One of the considerations that was taken into 

 account was the location of fishing areas, Mr. Lennon. 



Mr. Lennon. That is the most popular fishing area in North Caro- 

 lina, off Morehead. At least that is what is claimed by both com- 

 mercial and sports fishermen, but particularly coixanercial fishermen. 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. I agree it would not make too much sense to go 

 into a popular commercial or sports fishing area and stick a buoy 

 up there and say from here on we are going to dump low level radio- 

 axjtive wastes here. 



Mr. Lennon. Unfortunately, the report pinpointed that area. 

 Whether rightly or Avrongly, I do not know. That is what happened. 



Mr. CuRTiN. Could I ask one other question, Mr. Chairman? 



Dr. Lieberman, you have just stated the maximum concentration 

 that the human body can safely absorb of these materials in food, water, 

 and in the air we breathe. As we proceed into the atomic age, those 

 concentrations, it would seem to me, will increase. Has your research 

 on this subject indicated whether or not the human body can build 

 up an immunity to these materials so the safety factor will become 

 a higher percentage as the years go hy ?( 



Dr. LiEBERMAN. I think I would have to defer to Dr. Dunliam, 

 who is a physician, to answer that, Mr. Curtin. 



Mr. Curtin. When you say they have carefully chosen the sites, 

 it seems ironical that Ihey chose one site off Atlantic City, another 

 site off Virginia Beach, and sites where the favorite fishing sites are. 

 I would say tliey have carefully chosen them. That is all. 



