399 



4 

 Figures 3a and 3b show the surface condition of the container after 

 hoisting out of the water but before securing on deck. There was a 

 10 to 15 minute interlude here while the radioactivity level of the drum was 

 being measured. As seen in the photographs, the container is in remarkably 

 good condition after 14-15 years of immersion. The mud line can again be seen 

 in Figure 3b between the two arrows. Note that the upper half of the drum, 

 which was below the mud line, is less corroded than the lower half which was 

 exposed to the water column. The view in Figure 3a, for instance, shows most 

 of the area that was in the mud, and there is very little corrosion visible. 

 Identical areas on the drum surface are labeled "A" and "B" on Figures 3a and 

 3b. On seventy-five percent of the metallic surface area of the drum (and on 

 considerably more of the area below the mud line) the original black enaimel 

 finish was still intact. 



Several of the more interesting areas of the container surface were 

 photographed in detail after the container was secured on deck. These are 

 shown in Figures 4 through 9. Figure 4 shows the surface above and below the 

 mud line on the left portion of the cylindrical surface of the drum as seen in 

 Figure 3b. The large area of bare metal surface showing there as well as the 

 bare metal showing on the raised ribs of the drum in Figures 3a and 3b were 

 probably scraped clean as the drum was dragged along the bottom during the 

 initial part of the hoist precedure. There is little doubt that this 

 happened, as the track of the drum where it was dragged along was clearly 

 visible from the deep submersible, Alvin, upon subsequent inspection of the 

 site. 



