521 



of the London Dumping Convention. These amendments, if adopt- 

 ed, would have banned all ocean dumping of radioactive wastes. It 

 was the position of the United States that documentation submit- 

 ted in support of the proposal did not provide the required scientif- 

 ic or technical justification required under the terms of the conven- 

 tion and that the question should be reviewed to determine wheth- 

 er a ban was warranted on scientific or technical grounds. This po- 

 sition was accepted by consensus, with approval of a decision call- 

 ing for a 2-year review of the question. 



The delegation of Spain then introduced a resolution calling for a 

 suspension of all radioactive waste dumping pending the outcome 

 of the review. 



The U.S. delegation was unable to support this resolution on the 

 grounds that it prejudged the outcome of the study, the very pur- 

 pose of which was to determine whether the dumping of low level 

 radioactive waste was harmful to the marine environment, and 

 was an attempt to circumvent the procedural requirements con- 

 tained in article XV(2) that amendments to the convention annexes 

 be based on scientific or technical considerations. The resolution, 

 which is nonbinding, was approved by a majority of those present 

 and voting — 19 in favor, 6 opposed, 5 abstentions. 



A scientific and technical review of the merits of ocean disposal 

 of radioactive waste is now in progress in accordance with the deci- 

 sion of the consultative meeting of the parties to the London 

 Dumping Convention in February. The International Maritime Or- 

 ganization (IMO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency 

 (IAEA) invited the interested parties to submit relevant documen- 

 tation for consideration by a group of experts which met at IAEA 

 headquarters in September 1983. These experts, who represented a 

 number of international organizations with a particular interest in 

 the area, prepared a bibliography of relevant reference material for 

 the use of an intergovernmental group of experts scheduled to 

 meet in 1984 to review the merits of proposals to ban all radioac- 

 tive waste dumping and make a recommendation to the next con- 

 sultative level meeting in February 1985. 



The State Department has been concerned over the limited prog- 

 ress which has been made in implementation of the decision calling 

 for a 2-year study. We and other agencies would have strongly pre- 

 ferred that the September 1983 meeting go beyond the compilation 

 of a bibliography, for example, by also addressing possible draft 

 terms of reference for the 1984 intergovernmental meeting, or con- 

 sidering ways and means of encouraging involvement in the review 

 by technical specialists from as many countries as possible. 



This was not the case, however, and these questions will have to 

 be dealt with at the February 1984 meeting of the contracting par- 

 ties to the London Dumping Convention. We intend to pursue the 

 matter vigorously in our preparations for the February meeting 

 and to do everything possible in the coming months to facilitate a 

 timely and professional review of the data so that a sound recom- 

 mendation can be made to the London Dumping Convention con- 

 tracting parties for action in February 1985. 



I emphasize that the State Department is working closely with 

 other interested agencies in the executive branch to insure that the 

 administration position fully reflects our concern that the scientific 



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