216 OCEANOGRAPHY 



Atomic Energy Commission, 

 Washinyton, D.C., May 23, 1960. 

 Hon. Herbert C. Bonner, 



Chainiiun Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, 

 House of Representatives. 



Dear Mr. Bonner; By letter of May 13, 1960, there were forwarded to your 

 committee the Atomic Energy Commission's comments on H.R. 9361 and H.R. 

 1201« in connection with current hearings on oceanographic research. I am at- 

 taching, herewith, further comments by the commission on the subject of these 

 bills with the request that the enclosure, as well as our previous comments, be 

 made a part of the hearing record. 



Thank you for the opportunity to express our views. 

 Sincerely yours, 



DwiGHT A. Ink, General Manager. 



Statement of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission Before the House Com- 

 mittee ON Merchant Marine and Fisheries on H.R. 9361 and H.R. 12018 



I am pleased to be here today on behalf of the Atomic Energy Commission and 

 for the opportunity to testify on H.R. 93(51 and H.R. 12018. The Commission, as 

 you know, has a deep interest in oceanography. The Atomic Energy Commis- 

 sion is one of four Federal agencies (the others are Navy, Interior, and NSF) 

 that asked the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council to es- 

 tablish a Committee on Oceanography to advise and assist these Government 

 agencies with respect to their activities and interests in this field. We have 

 established a close and valuable relationship with the Committee, and since its 

 inception members of the Commission's staff have participated in development 

 of certain aspects of the 10-year program recommended by the Committee. Dur- 

 ing the course of this working relationship, the AEC has implemented certain 

 suggestions by the Academy Committee as they were developed. 



In accordance with the Academy Committee's recommendation, the Commis- 

 sion is continuing its interest in those aspects of oceanography which are con- 

 cerned with radioactivity. Research is underway to describe the immediate and 

 ultimate fate of radioactive materials that may be intentionally disposed of or 

 accidentally lost in tlie ocean. The projects now being supported include studies 

 of (1) vertical and horizontal movements of oceanic, coastal, and estuarine 

 waters as a distributive mechanism for radioactivity, (2) uptake by living organ- 

 isms and cycling of radioactive elements through marine food webs, (3) rates of 

 sinking and permanency of sedimentation of radionuclides, (4) mechanisms for 

 estimation of residence time of abyssal waters as related to the physical decay 

 of radioactive isotopes, (5) the direct and indirect effects of radioactivity on 

 marine organisms, (6) mechanisms for reduction or dilution of possible centers 

 of radioactivity in the ocean, and (7) other oceanographic factors related to the 

 behavior of I'adioactive materials in the marine enviromuent. 



During the present fiscal year, the Commission's expenditures in oceanography 

 will be approximately .$1.8 million. In fiscal year 1961 we anticipate an increase 

 in expenditures to about $2.2 million. 



The i)rogrammatic requirements of anticipated developments in the utilization 

 of atomic energy lead directly to a requirement for further information about 

 the oceans. As the uses of niiclear energy expand in the ship propulsion field, in 

 space vehicles, in nuclear aircraft and in the development of special energy 

 sources, the demand for careful research to determine their relationship to world 

 oceanic resources also increases. For example, in the development and testing 

 of space vehicles which might include nuclear components, there will be a re- 

 quirement to examine in some detail .specific oceanic environments that would 

 be involved in such programs. 



The committee is, I am sure, alread.y aware of the care with which the 

 Commission has approached the problems of safety of operation of nuclear sub- 

 marines, nuclear surface vessels, and the production of nuclear materials. In 

 this regard I would like to refer to a report of the National Academy of Sciences/ 

 National Research Council entitled, "The Biological Effects of Atomic Radiation, 

 Summary Reports 1960." On page 59 the report states, "to date, radioactive 

 waste management operations have not resulted in any significant effect on the 

 public, its environment or its natural resources." The Cominissitm recognizes, as 

 is reported by the NAS/NRC, that continuing monitoring programs must be 

 maintained to assure that concentrations of radioactive material released to the 

 environment do not become excessive. 



