115 



instances, corroborated this report. CIA analysis shows that solid and liquid radioactive 

 wastes were dumped and that barges and ships probably contaminated by or laden with 

 radioactive waste were scuttled. 



Although intelligence cannot verify the accuracy of all the dumpsites reported in 

 the Yablokov repon, CIA believes that: 



• Based on the observed movements of radioactive waste ships since at least 1979, the 

 locations and types of wastes reportedly dumped are accurate. 



• Civilian and naval ships probably began dumping liquid and solid radioactive waste 

 in the Barents and Kara Seas and the Sea of Japan in the mid-1960s. Civilian ships 

 probably have not conducted at-sea dumping since 1986. 



• This at-sea dumping activity does not present a direct threat to US fisheries or 

 personnel, including Alaska. 



The probable contamination of the Arctic can be traced to the industrial and 

 nuclear activities of many countries and regions - including Great Britain, the United 

 States, China, Russia (and the former Soviet Union), and eastern Europe. 



Past, present, and future sources of Russian radionuclide contamination in the 

 Arctic include atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons from Novaya Zeml'ya and 

 Semipalatinsk, intentional dumping of radioactive materials by the Russian Northern and 

 Pacific navy fleets, and accidents including Chernobyl' and the Russian nuclear 

 submarine Komsomolets which sank off the Norwegian coast. 



Ambient radiation levels in the waters of the Arctic Ocean generally are similar to 

 those found in other ocean basins. The threat to marine life is unclear, since no records 

 are available on the exact composition of the waste and because the extent of radioactive 

 leakage from containers is unknown. However: 



