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RESEARCH, AND SANCTUARIES Act oF 1972. THe AcT REQUIRES THE AGENCY TO 
EVALUATE PERMIT APPLICATIONS FOR OCEAN DISPOSAL OF MATERIALS NOT 
PROHIBITED BY THE ACT, INCLUDING LOW-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTES- 
To DEVELOP CRITERIA FOR EVALUATING PERMIT REQUESTS AND FOR 
CONTROLLING ANY FUTURE OCEAN DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE, EPA 
CONDUCTED A SERIES OF SURVEYS BEGINNING IN 1974 To EVALUATE THE RESULTS 
OF PAST U-S- OCEAN DUMPING: WE FOCUSED OUR SURVEY EFFORTS ON THE THREE 
MAJOR OCEAN DUMPSITES WHICH CONTAINED MORE THAN 95 PERCENT OF ALL 
RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS DUMPED BY THE UNITED STATES- ONE OF THESE 
DUMPSITES IS LOCATED NEAR THE FARALLON ISLANDS ABOUT 50 MILES OFF THE 
COAST OF CALIFORNIA, THE OTHER TWO ARE AT ABOUT 120 mILes AND 200 MILES 
OFF THE MARYLAND-DELAWARE COAST- JHE DETAILS OF THESE SURVEYS WERE 
PRESENTED IN EPA’s TESTIMONY BEFORE A HEARING OF THIS SUBCOMMITTEE ON 
NovemBer 20, 1980. From THE DATA GATHERED, WE HAVE CONCLUDED THAT 
THERE IS NO EVIDENCE OF HARM TO HUMANS OR THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT FROM 
PAST U-S- OCEAN DUMPING OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES- 
THe U-S- GENERAL Accountine Office (GAO) REACHED A SIMILAR 
CONCLUSION IN THEIR RECENT REPORT “HAZARDS oF Past Low-LEVEL 
RADIOACTIVE WASTE OcEAN DumpiNG Have BEEN OVEREMPHASIZED-” THE GAO 
CONTACTED OVER 30 SCIENTISTS, EXAMINED THE MAJOR SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH 
PAPERS ON THIS SUBJECT, AND TALKED WITH SEVERAL ENVIRONMENTAL AND 
PUBLIC INTEREST GROUPS: JHE RESULTS OF THIS INVESTIGATION INDICATED 
THAT THE EVIDENCE OVERWHELMINGLY SHOWS THAT PAST OCEAN DUMPING BY THE 
U-S- POSES NEITHER AN ENVIRONMENTAL NOR PUBLIC HEALTH HAZARD- 
