382 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



Mr. CuRTiN. Have you an opinion as to the feasibility of these loca- 

 tions in relation to the fishing grounds ? 



Mr. McKerxan. I have great confidence in the membei-s of this 

 committee. Upon review and recommendations of my staff, the Bu- 

 reau has generally adopted the recommendations of this particular 

 committee, because in a sense these are simply not finally adopted dis- 

 posal areas, you see. Tliey are suggestions which call for further 

 study and further deliberation. So we still have an opportunity to 

 object to any of these areas where they might have a permanent effect 

 on the fisheries resources. 



Mr. CuRTiN. They are in the nature of proposals. Are you in favor 

 of these proposals ? 



Mr. McKerkan. Insofar as our information is developed so far, 

 yes. 



Mr. CuRTiN. That is all, Mr. Chairman. 



Mr. MiiXER. Mr. Lennon. 



Mr. Lennon. I believe your official title is Director of the Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries in the Department. 



Mr. McKernan. Yes, Mr. Lennon. 



Mr. Lennon. I believe you stated in response to a question by Mr. 

 Curtin that you are familiar with the areas recommended by the 

 National Academy of Sciences for the disposal of low level radio- 

 active wastes recently published. 



Mr. McKernan. I may have misled you, Mr. Lennon. I am not 

 specifically familiar with the detailed locations of these, and talked 

 to our people only in a general sense. 



Mr. Lennon. You said you had an opportunity to review that, 

 though, and to make objections to it if there were any objections. 



Mr, McKernan. Yes. 



Mr. Lennon. You made no objections? 



Mr. McKernan. Yes; that is correct. 



Mr. Lennon. Dr. Joseph Lieberman, who I believe is a safety en- 

 gineer for the AEC, testified yesterday. I think he identified himself 

 as sanitation environment engineer of the Reactor Division of the 

 AEC. As I recollect from his testimony yesterday, that was his 

 identification when he testified before the committee. 



He was asked about this matter. I shall tell you in a few minutes 

 what he had to say, as I recall his testimony. 



For almost ten years we have been dumping packages, properly 

 l^rotected or supposedly properly protected, in certain areas of the 

 ocean, generally beyond the continental shelf, in the deeper waters 

 of our gulf coast and Pacific and Atlantic coasts. These are low 

 level radioactive materials. Have we not? 



Mr. McKernan. Yes. 



Mr. Lennon. Of course, those areas were approved by the Bureau 

 of Commercial Fisheries. 



Mr. McKeknan. I would not say "approved,'" Mr. Ixumon. We 

 had an opportunity to object to those arejvs. 



Mr. Lennox. You found no reason to object'^ 



Mr. McKernan. Correct. 



Mr. Lexxox. Now the proposal is to dump these radioactive waste 

 materials, low level thongh they may be, in spots along the gulf coast 

 and more particularly along the North Carolina coast at a spot which. 



