532 



5 

 Nortn East Atlantic dumpsite for radioactive materials. This 

 international program, involving 12 countries, will be described in 

 detail later m this testimony. 



BrooKhaven National Laboratory (BNLj 



Since 1980, tne Brookhaven National Laboratory has conducted a 

 number of studies and provided technical expertise to assist the EPA 

 Office of Radiation Programs. This assistance has included technical 

 peer reviews of EPA contractor reports on ocean dumpsite surveys, 

 technical advice on international monitoring programs, and 

 Identification of cost factors applicable to the evaluation of ocean 

 disposal as an alternative for low-level radioactive wastes. 



BNL has provided especially important information on packaging of 

 radioactive wastes for ocean disposal, including the analysis of 

 radioactive waste drums recovered from the three major dumpsites used 

 Dy tne United States in the past. In addition, BNL has developed 

 radioactive waste packaging performance criteria for each component of 

 waste pacicages, including tne waste container, the waste, and the 

 solidification matrix. BNL has evaluated specific solidification 

 agents and packaging techniques in relation to these packaging 

 performance criteria. This task includes evaluation of recent 

 international progress and of emerging technologies for materials not 

 yet applied to packaging for low-level radioactive wastes. BNL has 

 also evaluated the intrinsic containment performance of metals with 



