300 



367). A table describing the historical funding levels for the Subseabed Disposal 

 Program is attached to my prepared statement. 



PAST OCEAN DISPOSAL PRACTICES 



Because of current Congressional interest in other previous ocean disposal prac- 

 tices, it might be helpful to review those earlier practices as a preface to considering 

 the unrelated subseabed disposal concept. The disposal of high-level radioactive 

 waste into the ocean has never been practiced by the United States Government 

 and is now prohibited by United States domestic legislation (the Marine Protection, 

 Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972) and also by the 1972 London Convention on 

 the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Waste and Other Matter, which 

 the United States has ratified. The United States has, however, previously disposed 

 of low-level radioactive waste in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. No new 

 licenses for ocean disposal of low-level waste have been issued since about 1960. 

 Furthermore, the practice of ocean disposal was discontinued by 1970 mainly be- 

 cause of the opening of less costly low-level radioactive waste land burial sites. The 

 safety of this previous practice was predicated on the assumption that, even if the 

 waste were released at the time it reached the ocean floor, natural dilution and 

 dispersal would result in environmentally safe levels of radioactivity. 



Ocean disposal was regulated by the Atomic Energy Commission s (AEC) Office of 

 Regulation until 1972 when the Marine Protection, Research & Sanctuaries Act 

 centered regulatory responsibility in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

 At that time, the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

 (NOAA) were directed to initiate a comprehensive and continuing program of moni- 

 toring and research regarding the environmental effects of the past practices. As a 

 result the EPA has conducted specific studies of the impact of dumping at the major 

 sites in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Department of Energy and its prede- 

 cessor agencies have cooperated fully with the EPA in these studies which have 

 concluded that there is no evidence of harm to either man or the environment as a 

 result of this past disposal practice. 



The Department is continuing to cooperate with the EPA in assembling a compre- 

 hensive data file on all past U.S. ocean disposal activities. Specifically, the Depart- 

 ment is requesting its field organizations to accumulate basic data on all ocean 

 disposal activities carried out by the AEC or its contractors which were not under 

 the auspices of an AEC license. We understand that the Nuclear Regulatory Com- 

 mission will provide the EPA with similar information for all previously licensed 

 disposal activities. The EPA is also looking into ocean disposal carried out by other 

 Government agencies. The Department of Energy will continue to cooperate closely 

 with the EPA as it carries out its responsibilities regarding ocean disposal. 



THE SUBSEABED DISPOSAL PROGRAM 



I would now like to describe our current subseabed disposal program which should 

 not be confused with the ocean disposal practices just described. The existence of 

 deep sea technology such as deep seabed drilling, drill hole reentry, and deep sea 

 emplacement and recovery of large equipment, makes it reasonable to include deep 

 ocean sediments as a candidate medium for the disposl and isolation of radioactive 

 waste. These sediments are thick, uniform, and stable deposits which have accumu- 

 lated over millions of years and are in the process of becoming sedimentary rock. 

 Disposal in such sediments could provide effective isolation of radioactive waste 

 from the biosphere. 



The primary objective of the subseabed disposal program is to assess the feeisibil- 

 ity of the technical, environmental, engineering, and institutional approaches for 

 disposing of solidified and packaged high-level nuclear waste and/or packaged spent 

 reactor fuel in geologic formations under the world's oceans. A secondary objective 

 is to assess the seabed disposal options of other nations and cooperate with them 

 when appropriate. Sandia National Laboratories has the prime responsibility for 

 coordinating and managing this program for the Department. 



The Subseabed Disposal Program has adopted a reference system for study pur- 

 poses even though that system may have to be altered as additional information is 

 acquired. The reference subseabed disposal system assumes that solidified high-level 

 wastes or spent reactor fuel in high-integrity, long-lasting containers would be 

 buried in highly stable clay sediments. These sediments would be: (1) away from the 

 edges of oceanic tectonic plates (to avoid volcanic and seismic activity); (2) away 

 from the edges of major circular surface currents (to avoid subsurface agitation and 

 fishing associated with these currents); and, (3) in areas of low biological activity. 

 Several methods appear feasible for emplacing wastes at depths of about ten to 

 thirty meters beneath the sediment surface. Though none of the methods has been 



