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of the London Convention, decided at its February 1983 meeting 

 to convene an ad hoc meeting of legal experts to assist in the 

 clarification of the circumstances under which seabed disposal 

 of high-level radioactive waste and other hazardous wastes 

 would be contrary to the provisions of the Convention. The ad 

 hoc legal group is scheduled to meet December 12-lA, 1983, in 

 London, to begin its review. 



The Department is working closely with EPA and with the State 

 Department in the development of the U.S. position papers and 

 guidance for the U.S. delegation for the London meeting. 



At present, discussion of the national and international 

 regulatory issues pertaining to subseabed disposal constitutes 

 a preliminary exploration of various considerations that could 

 affect a subseabed repository. Until the concept has been 

 completely assessed, however, many of these issues will remain 

 unresolved. If subseabed disposal is feasible and if a 

 decision is made to develop a subseabed repository, then these 

 issues will be addressed. Resolving these issues will require 

 cooperation among representatives from the international, 

 scientific and legal communities, relevant governmental 

 agencies, and the interested public. 



