OCEAN SCIENCES AND NATIONAL SECURITY 95 



On the other hand, the Maritime Administration has noted that "it 

 should be consulted in designing of all ships, paid for from public 

 funds and used for marine studies * * * and charged with the super- 

 vision during construction of Government-owned oceanographic 

 survey ships operated by others in pure research."^" 



(d) National Bureau of Standards.- — The National Bm-eau of Stand- 

 ards has specific responsibilities concerning the calibration and stand- 

 ardization of instruments employed in research and on standard 

 properties of water, etc. In addition, the National Bureau of 

 Standards has been given a responsibility for research on techniques 

 of data collection, storage, and retrieval such that their experience 

 may prove applicable and valuable in the future development of 

 centers for hydrographic or oceanographic data. 



5. Atomic Energy Commission* 



The Atomic Energy Commission is concerned with oceanographic 

 research and development insofar as it relates to their responsibilities 

 for disposal of radioactive waste products. Of the two types of waste 

 products, low-level and high-level, the philosophy to prevent contami- 

 nation has been to dilute and disperse the first, to concentrate and 

 contain the second. Studies by the Atomic Energy Commission and 

 subsequently by independent research agencies, including NAS-NRC 

 have pointed to the feasibility of utilizing offshore waters. However 

 because of the irreversible action of such dumping, the safety of this 

 continued practice has been a matter of serious and elaborate study 

 by the Atomic Energy Commission, through their own laboratories 

 and contracts with universities and nonprofit laboratories. They 

 maintain no seagoing facilities of their own, but have contracted for 

 such services. The extent of AEC sponsorship of this type of research 

 has been previously noted in this report. 



6. National Science Foundation* 



The National Science Foundation, in accordance with its enabling 

 act of 1950, has undertaken an increasing responsibility to sponsor 

 fundamental research in the oceans. This has been accomplished 

 through grants to universities and nonprofit laboratories as shown in 

 the accompanying tables. Quite recently the National Science 

 Foundation has requested and received appropriations from the 

 Congress for the construction of the first new oceanographic research 

 vessel of any size to be built in this country. Details are given in 

 Table 9. Although the National Science Foundation's support of 

 marine sciences has in the past been relatively modest, it is visualized 

 as having a vitally important role in the future in the support of re- 

 search, as well as the construction of special facilities and the develop- 

 ment of fellowship programs that would foster an increase in scientific 

 manpower. An even greater role as an operating agency has been 

 proposed by the Magnuson-Pelly Bills, as is brought out subsequently. 



7. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare 



The Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, through the 

 Public Health Service, has a continuing interest in the problem of 

 radioactive contamination of the ocean resources and theu- effects 

 through the biologicarchain on human health. In addition, in the 



'""Oceanography In the U.S.," op. clt., p. 71. 



