273 



Mr. Studds. 1961? 



Mr. Anderson. 1961. 



Mr. Studds. Any questions? 



Ms. MiKULSKi. The location of the dumpsite, Mr. Anderson, is 

 this in the earthquake-prone zone, do you know? 



Mr. Anderson. You mean the Farallons, this site? 



Ms. MiKULSKi. Yes. 



Mr. Anderson. It is about 60 miles — about 40 miles west of San 

 Francisco. The actual dumpsite is near the Farallon Islands which 

 are a famous group of islands off the San Francisco coast. I would 

 not think it would be in the earthquake zone, but probably 30 or 40 

 miles west of it. 



Ms. MiKULSKi. A shock would be felt? In other words, all the 

 earthquake alerts that we know in the San Francisco area, the 

 Earth would crack? 



Mr. Anderson. You could feel it all the way to Los Angeles, the 

 shock would carry, yes. 



Ms. MiKULSKi. So there could also, by placing it near San Fran- 

 cisco, I mean apart from the terrible part of placing it near San 

 Francisco, it is doubly dangerous because it is in an earthquake 

 zone, is that right? 



Mr. Anderson. Close to an earthquake zone, yes, and it would be 

 felt by a shock. 



Ms. MiKULSKi. Well, Mr. Anderson, I would like to thank you for 

 bringing this to the committee's and the country's attention. I 

 think this is really a blockbuster. 



Mr. Studds. Thank you very much. Congressman. 



Our next witness is from the Department of Energy, Mr. Sheldon 

 Meyers, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Waste Manage- 

 ment, Department of Energy. 



STATEMENT OF SHELDON MEYERS, DEPUTY ASSISTANT SEC- 

 RETARY FOR NUCLEAR WASTE MANAGEMENT, U.S. DEPART- 

 MENT OF ENERGY 



Mr. Meyers. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am 

 pleased to appear before you today to take part in the discussions 

 on the possibility of disposal of radioactive wastes beneath the 

 ocean floor. I will describe how this concept fits within the Presi- 

 dent's national waste management program, and outline in some 

 detail the objectives, status, and plans for assessing the technical 

 and environmental feasibility of the subseabed disposal concept. 



The Department's nuclear waste management program, includ- 

 ing the examination of subseabed disposal, is based on the Presi- 

 dent's message to the Congress on Radioactive Waste Management 

 which he issued in February of this year. In that message, sub- 

 seabed disposal is viewed as an alternative option for isolating 

 radioactive waste. Mined geologic repositories are the focal point of 

 the comprehensive national radioactive waste management pro- 

 gram, but the Department will continue to support a limited pro- 

 gram to evaluate other disposal alternatives as longer range op- 

 tions. Options currently under assessment include disposal of high 

 level wastes in very deep boreholes, disposal in space, and emplace- 

 ment in ocean sediments in regions where the ocean floor is known 

 to be geologically stable. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I 



