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• Studies by Russian and western scientists have noted an increase in the levels of 

 Cesium- 137 and Strontium-90 in Arctic waters following the Chernobyl' nuclear 

 power plant accident in 1986. 



• Based upon measurements taken during a 1991 international expedition to the Arctic 

 polar basin, a Danish researcher stated that the radioactivity in the Arctic Sea areas is 

 four times higher than the quantity of radioactive fallout would suggest. 



• Russian researchers who took samples while floating across the Arctic Ocean on an 

 ice floe between 1985 and 1987 have determined that much of the Arctic Ocean's 

 cesium- 137 contamination is concentrated in the top 200 meters. 



• CIA believes that some of the cesium- 137 probably originated in Russian plutonium 

 production facilities and was carried into the Arctic by the Ob' and Yenisey rivers . 



Based on known oceanographic conditions in both the Barents and Kara Sea 

 dumping areas, any contaminants would tend to be dispersed and diluted thus increasing 

 the difficulty of detection and decreasing environmental hazard. 



Measurements indicate that the Arctic has also been contaminated by industrial 

 sources. These pollutants are transported into the Arctic by atmospheric- and water- 

 borne paths and are generally accepted to be the primary components of Arctic Haze - a 

 phenomenon similar to lower latitude smog. By the early 1980s, scientific studies had 

 shown that chemicals, heavy metals, and organics were major components of Arctic 

 Haze. CIA is aware of research being conducted on industrial contaminants in the Kara 

 Sea, but I must defer comment on this issue to a closed, classified session. 



The Yablokov Report, although thorough, may not be exhaustive. For example, 

 in May 1993 a Russian government committee told Japanese officials that in 1987 a 

 Soviet Navy helicopter crashed into the Sea of Okhotsk while carrying an atomic-energy 

 battery, according to press reporting. While the Russians told the Japanese that no leaks 

 were detected from the accident, the battery, which used Strontium-90 as its power 

 .source, contained more than 20 times the amount of radiation the Russians had 



