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activities occur. Any distinction between marine waters and the 



seabed and subsoil, for purposes of disposal at sea, would be 



inconsistent with the Convention's object and purpose. In 



addition to the Convention itself, there are several other 



international agreemertts which support such an interpretation of 



"disposal at sea". The most significant of those are the 



Convention on the High Seas, the Stockholm Conference and the Law 



of the Sea Convention. Moreover, this broader interpretation is 



preferred under principles of international law because it 



contributes to the continued effectiveness of the Convention. 



If the Parties to the Convention were to adopt the position 



at the Eighth Consultative Meeting that seabed disposal is 



covered and prohibited under the Convention, any subsequent 



effort by seabed disposal proponents to amend the Convention 



would properly carry with it the responsibility of persuading the 



Parties that such disposal can be safely carried out in a manner 



that will ensure protection of the marine environment. The 



environmental coalition supports the position that Greenpeace has 



developed, and it is our hope that the evolving U.S. government 



position on this matter will reach a similar conclusion. 



C. IAEA Review of Radioactive Waste Definitions and 

 Recommendations 



In addition to the above matters, the Seventh Consultative 



Meeting was advised by an IAEA representative of various tasks 



which that organization is carrying out as part of its technical 



and scientific advisory relationship with the Convention's 



Parties. Included among those tasks are technical committee 



reviews of three matters related to sea disposal of radioactive 



