587 
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they need to be monitored for potential hazards; and they provide 
"an improved technical basis for evaluating future phy Sabla oe 
Yet, as we formulate responsible policies for the future regarding 
ocean dumping of radioactive wastes, we need not and should not 
be limited to sites where dumping has already occurred. Both 
previously used sites and "test" sites can provide illuminating 
answers to unresolved concerns. 
A. Past Dumpsites 
In light of the evidence cited in relation to the need for 
Site-specific monitoring, it is difficult to understand how GAO 
could have reached its final conclusion that EPA's current 
approach to ocean dumping could be improved if they "recognized 
the limited benefits of monitoring prior emis: Siete: seems 
their strongest reasoning is that there is a "lack of baseline 
data on the amounts of natural and fall-out related radioactivity 
in the oceans... ay However, this does not diminish the 
fact that much can be learned from prior dumpsites as a basis for 
more informed decisions concerning proposals to dump radioactive 
wastes in the future. 
At a one-day symposium -- "Nuclear Waste Management: The 
Ocean Alternative" -- that was convened in Washington, D.C. in 
February 1980, the need for research and monitoring was a continu- 
wBY/, IAEA Revised Definition, supra, note 13; see also, Estes Park 
Workshop, supra, note 65. 
716/ GAO Report, supra note 3, at 18. 
tay Glo Ete LG). 
