SECT. 1] 



ARTIFICIAL RADIOACTIVITY IN THE SEA 



85 



4. Disposal of Radioactive Waste in the Ocean 



In connection with the peaceful use of atomic energy, the problem of the 

 disposal of radioactive waste in the ocean has' been extensively discussed. 

 Needless to say, waste products from nuclear reactions require special attention 

 because they constitute hazards even in very low concentrations. In addition to 

 the radioactive waste from nuclear tests, waste products are produced by 

 nuclear reactors. Up to now, most of the fission products introduced into the 

 ocean have been from weapon tests ; only small quantities of radioactive waste 

 from reactors have been put into the sea. But, in the future radioactive waste 

 from nuclear power plants will bring about formidable problems in oceano- 

 graphy, if the sea is regarded as one of the possible sites of disposal. 



Table VI 



Maximum Permissible Levels of Activity in Marine Materials Adopted at 



Windscale. U.K. 



Type of activity 



m.p.l. in water, Marine m.p.l. in material. 



[j.c/ml material [^tWg 



Experimental studies have been made for several years on the discharge of 

 radioactivity from the Windscale Works of the United Kingdom Atomic 

 Energy Authority to the coastal waters of the Irish Sea off Cumberland through 

 a pipe-line extending about 3 km beyond the high-water mark. The results 

 indicated that the maximum permissible discharge rate is not less than 20,000 

 curies per month of total beta activity. The maximum permissible levels 

 adopted at Windscale are given in Table VI (after Dunster, 1958). 



The calculation of the potential steady-state situation in which radioactive 

 wastes are uniformly introduced into the oceans was done by Craig (1957), 



