402 



7 

 found to be between 5 and 8. There was one notable exception. The pH of the 

 water bubbling from the puncture described in connection with Figures 3 and 7 

 was between 13.0 and 13.5. 



3-3 Microbiological Analysis 



Despite the fact that aseptic techniques were not used in sampling the 

 corrosion products, no microorganisms could be positively identified 

 microscopically as being present in the corrosion products. Both the 

 red-orange outer layer and the greenish-black inner layer adjacent to the bare 

 metal surface were examined. Since the shipboard observations were very 

 difficult due to vibration problems, observations were also made in the 

 laboratory. The same negative result was obtained. 



J4.0 DISCUSSION 



The overall condition of the container that was recovered was much better 

 than might have been expected given the duration of exposure in the deep ocean 

 (probably in excess of 14 years). The often localized nature of the corrosion 

 that did take place was also somewhat surprising as one normally expects steel 

 structures to be corroded uniformly over the exposed surface. Before drawing 

 any conclusions about the significance of the good condition of the drum to 

 future ocean dumping, however, two things must be considered: first, this is 

 only a single data point; second, this single point is purposely biased. Many 

 of the containers observed by the submersible, Alvin, were in worse condition 

 than the one recovered. This particular drum was selected for recovery 

 because it appeared to be in good enough condition to survive the trip to the 

 surface and yet provide meaningful information on past packaging performance. 



