OCEANOGRAPHY AND FISHERIES 73 



ences will depend upon available knowledge and its interpretation. A full and free exchange 

 of basic information is necessary. To supplement exchange of information through reports, 

 publications, and scientific conferences, consideration should be given to the establishment of 

 data centers where records of disposal operations, monitoring studies, and similar systematic 

 data may be maintained. 



Education 



It is important that available facts, objectives, and areas of disagreement on disposal of 

 radioactive materials in the oceans be made available to the public, to scientists, and to gov- 

 ernment administrators and statesmen. While some of the problems are disturbing and dif- 

 ficult, all are subject to rational attack based on measurement and analysis. Education in these 

 matters must be aimed at individuals, states, and nations. 



Permissible Concentrations of Radionuclides in Sea Water, and Regulations for Different 

 Types of Disposal 



In the absence of direct monitoring information for a specific area, the permissible con- 

 centrations in sea water for different radioisotopes must be estimated. Conservative estimates 

 can be made from the allowable total body burdens and the maximum permissible concentra- 

 tions in drinking water, assuming that all the artificial radiation received by the body comes 

 from marine foods and provided that the degrees of concentration of isotopes by marine or- 

 ganisms and the amounts of the stable isotopes in the body and in the sea water are known. 

 In many cases the permissible sea water concentrations could be increased if the pathways of 

 accumulation by fishes and edible invertebrates, and the biological half-lives in marine organ- 

 isms were better understood. Several sources of radioactive contamination of marine products 

 will exist (for example, wastes from nuclear-powered ships, and from shore -based atomic 

 power plants), and decisions must be made concerning the fraction of the total concentration 

 that can be allocated to each source. Moreover, artificial radioactivity can reach the body 

 from the air and from food and drinking water originating on land, as well as from sea food. 

 Consequently, the fractions of the total radiation that can come from sea food must be de- 

 termined. Such determinations should be made by legally constituted regulatory agencies, 

 guided by the general recommendations of the National Committee on Radiation Protection 

 and Measurements, and by the special circumstances peculiar to each area. It may be neces- 

 sary to formulate different sets of recommendations for the general population and for com- 

 munities and individuals that depend heavily on aquatic plants and animals for their food. 

 Ultimately, specific regulations may be required to cover each type of situation involving in- 

 troduction of radioactive materials in the environment. 



Basic and Applied Research 



Our understanding of the marine environment is presently inadequate to provide more 

 than crude and restrictive answers to questions concerning the consequences of introducing 

 radioactive materials. Greater research efforts are needed, both at sea and in the laboratory. 

 At sea, studies should be made of estuarine and coastal environments, of circulation and 

 mixing in the deep ocean, and of the physical and biological processes by which materials in- 

 troduced into deep water may be transferred to the surface layers or removed by sedimenta- 

 tion. The biological half-lives of radioisotopes in marine organisms, the pathways of accumu- 



