REPORT OF THE 

 COMMITTEE ON OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES 



I. Introduction 



In its 1957 report(l)*, this Committee made several policy recommendations concerning 

 the introduction of radioactive material into the oceans. We pointed out that until more 

 knowledge of physical and biological processes had been obtained, it was necessary to err on 

 the side of safety, that is, to introduce much smaller quantities of radioactive substances than 

 the sea might be capable of receiving in order to insure that no damage would be done to 

 marine resources. A research program to obtain the necessary information was recom- 

 mended together with regulation and monitoring at both national and international levels and 

 a greater effort to spread understanding of the problems involved among scientists and laymen. 



Since the 1957 report was published, much has occurred to sharpen the issues involved 

 and to increase our understanding. The Committee itself, acting either as a subcommittee of 

 the Academy's Committee on Oceanography or in cooperation with them, has published three 

 reports: one on the disposal of low-level wastes off the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United 

 States(2), another on wastes from nuclear-powered ships(3), and a third giving more specific 

 recommendations about research and monitoring than were possible in 1956(4). Summaries 

 of these three papers are given in the present report. A fourth report, on the disposal of radio- 

 active wastes off the west coast of the United States is in preparation. In all of these, an at- 

 tempt has been made to make quantitative recommendations and calculations showing the 

 maximum amounts of various radioisotopes that can safely be disposed of in sea water of 

 different areas. 



Additional national emphasis has been placed on the development of oceanography in 

 general and on important applied problems such as the disposal of radioactive wastes into the 

 oceans. In October 1958, the Chief of Naval Research released the results of a study under 

 the title Project Tenoc, which outlined the existing research programs, facilities, and fundings 

 in United States oceanographic organizations, and gave an estimate of the additional effort 

 required by each organization to provide for the needs of the Navy during the next ten years. 



Chapters of the report of the Academy-Research Council's Committee on Oceanog- 

 raphy, Oceanography, 1960 to 1970, were issued in 1959, and the entire report will be pub- 

 lished in the near future. Many of its general and detailed recommendations for an expanded 

 national and international program of oceanographic research and surveys are beginning to 

 be implemented through the Federal Council of Science and Technology, and the Congress. 

 Included in these recommendations was an increase in the next five years of research effort 

 on problems related to artificial radioactivity in the oceans from the present level of about 2 

 million dollars per year to an annual level of 6 million dollars. 



During January, February, and July, 1959, the Special Subcommittee on Radiation of 

 the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy of the Congress of the United States held hearings on 



* Numbers in parenthesis indicate references in section IV of this report. 



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