476 



-13- 



The U.S. also participates in an NEA- sponsored program for 

 overseeing the dumping of low-level wastes in the Northeast 

 Atlantic by certain European nations. In this area, the United 

 States has been pressing for the development of adequate monitoring 

 and site assessment plans, and has agreed to a one-year extension 

 of our participation, until 1981, conditioned on development of 

 these criteria and plans. Participation in such operations is 

 important for three primary reasons: (1) operations are conducted 

 in areas of the "global commons," belonging to all nations, 



(2) observation of these dump sites will allow the U.S. to observe 

 what occurs at the time radioactive waste is dumped, and to compare 

 those findings with knowledge concerning the effects over time 



(as was gleaned from EPA's Farallon Islands investigations), and 



(3) the results of these operations have implications for 

 U.S. dumping standards now being developed by the EPA. 



V7hile these hearings are primarily focused on issues 

 concerning seabed emplacement of high-level wastes, the 

 public interest aroups believe that there are several points 

 concerning the United States' current national and international 

 activities involving low-level radioactive waste disposal that 

 merit attention. Internationally, it is vital that the U.S. con- 

 tinue to take an active part in meetings and conferences, and in 

 the development of multi-national policies and procedures. The 

 IAEA's upcoming agenda includes assessment of its outdated 



