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illustrates this capability. The second broad category is the ability to provide 

 environmental information that can be used as input to models to predict the transport of 

 the pollutant, and thus its potential impact on other locations. For the purposes of the 

 particular pollutants under discussion at these hearings -radionuclides and toxic wastes 

 dumped into the world's oceans- the main concerns would be circulation models that 

 would predict how much of the pollutant would be moved around the major oceans, as 

 well as flow models for individual rivers near the source of the pollution. I will describe 

 some MEDEA activities that have determined the unique capabilities of our national 

 security assets in gathering such information on ocean processes and some datasets that 

 MEDEA has been coordinating that will provide information needed as input to models. 

 Finally, I will briefly summarize an investigation that MEDEA will perform in FY '96 to 

 address the question of radionuclide migration directly. 



The best example of how our national security assets can monitor pollutants 

 directly and determine their potential impact on other regions is the so-called Komi oil 

 spill. The Komi Republic of Russia became the focus of international attention in fall 

 1994, when the press reported a number of large oilspills. The spills were concentrated 

 along the main pipeline connecting the Vozey and Usinsk oilfields along the Kolva 

 River, affecting about 175 acres of land and 25 miles of stream banks over a 22 mile 

 section of the pipeline. It is estimated that 100,000 tons of crude oil were spilled- an 

 amount nearly three times the size of the Exxon Valdez disaster. International concern 

 was raised that spilled oil might make it into nearby rivers that feed into the Barents Sea, 

 thereby polluting the Arctic Ocean. 



At the request of senior policymakers, MEDEA worked closely with Intelligence 

 Community and NOAA and EPA analysts to determine the risk to the Arctic Ocean. 

 Data from national security assets and other sources were analyzed to determine the 



