natio:nal oceanographic program legislation 457 



Dr. IvAVANAGH. Mr. Chairman, the Atomic Energy Commission 

 differs from most agencies in that we do very little of our own work 

 in-house. Our major laboratories are run by contractors, and we do 

 a great deal of work with universities and with research groups 

 through contract. So, all of our work is done under contract. 



A great deal of this environmental work is done with universities. 

 Some is done by research institutions. Some is actually financed by us 

 in other agencies. 



Mr. Casey. Is there any other agency besides your agency in the 

 same field ? 



Dr. Kavanagii. Yes. Our work relates to the general responsi- 

 bilities of Health, Education, and Welfare in pollution. We deal 

 with them considerably there. Our environmental work also involves 

 cooperative work with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and I 

 think we have work with the Navy, and we have from time to time 

 had projects with the Coast and Geodetic Survey. 



Mr. Casey. Getting back to the specific problem, the Bureau of 

 Commercial Fisheries is interested in the study and the end result. 

 Are you conducting the studies and then passing the information on 

 to them? 



Dr. Kavanagh. In the cases I am talking about, we are asking 

 them or agTceing with them that they should do some work on a prob- 

 lem of interest to us based on funds which we have found we should 

 apply to that problem in the context of our own mission. 



Mr. Casey. Is your particular sphere of the study with reference 

 to the safety with which disposals can be made in the ocean? 



Dr. Kavanagh. This is one of the problems, but in a more general 

 way we want to understand what happens to activity which already 

 has gotten there. In some of the cases, work with these other agencies 

 is jointly supported. We have a program which they may do with 

 joint support. 



Mr. Casey. There has been quite a bit of public reaction to the 

 problem of disposing of radioactive wastes in the ocean. The Joint 

 Committee has looked into that, and I think we have also had hearings 

 on that problem. I know the study was in its first blush stage be- 

 cause no one knew how much was absorbed by small marine life and 

 how much was retained by the larger fish, plankton, and what have 

 you, and in the end result the condition of the fish which finally was 

 put on the table. I think you very wisely slowed them down or 

 stopped them completely until you knew more about it. I am familiar 

 with that one particular thing and how the study was done on it. 



Dr. Kavanagh. This is the type of work we are doing. I don't 

 know about the specific studies to which you referred. 



Mr. Casey. I meant whether it was all being conducted from grants 

 of your agency. 



Mr. Joseph. We support two projects jointly with the Bureau of 

 Commercial Fisheries, one at North Carolina, their radiobiological 

 laboratory. This deals with the effects on fish and shellfish, and other 

 radiobiological studies. Additional work is done by universities and 

 institutions considering different environmental situations. 



Mr. Casey. How is this financed? Do you finance it completely 

 out of your budget ? 



Mr. Joseph. With the other agencies it works out to be joint sup- 

 port. With the institutions it is completely out of our budget. 



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