560 
@e the extent of Federal efforts to assure that any 
future ocean dumping is done safely and in an 
environmentally acceptable way. 2/ 
In October 1981, the GAO issued its report entitled "Hazards 
of Past Low-Level Radioactive Waste Ocean Dumping Have Been Over- 
emphasized." 3/ It was hoped that the GAO Report would clarify 
the issues; instead, it presents an incomplete and misrepresented 
picture of the facts and reports involved, and derives its 
conclusions from this inaccurate presentation. The major conclu- 
sions of the GAO Report are as follows: 
@ the Federal Government has no complete and 
accurate catalogue of information on how much, 
what kind, and where low-level nuclear waste 
was dumped because detailed records were not 
required; 
e the overwhelming body of scientific research 
and opinion shows that concerns over the poten- 
“tial public health and environmental conse- 
quences posed by past ocean dumping activity 
are unwarranted and overemphasized; and 
@ although the Environmental Protection Agency 
has been slow in developing low-level radio- 
active waste ocean dumping regulations, its 
current approach is sound. Nonetheless, 
improvements are needed in developing specific 
dumpsite monitoring requirements. 4/ 
Included in this third conclusion is the premise that the monitor- 
ing of past ocean dumpsites to aid in developing future policy 
is of little benefit. 
2/ Letter from the Honorable William B. Roth, Jr., to the 
Honorable Elmer B. Staats, Comptroller General of the U.S. General 
Accounting Office (Jan. 8, 1981). 
3/ United States General Accounting Office, Hazards of Past Low- 
Level Radioactive Waste Ocean Dumping Have Been Overemphasized, 
EMD-82-9 (October 1981) eat (i) [hereinafter cited as GAO Report]. 
4/ Id. at cover page. 
