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Additional Questions of Mr. Hughes and Answered by EPA 



1. In July of 1981, the Environmental Protection Agency, Office of 

 Radiation Programs released a draft program plan for monitoring 

 radioactivity in the oceans. Among other things, the plan was designed 

 to establish an interagency program for systematically monitoring 

 radioactive wastes and conducting research on the long-term effects of 

 raaioactive pollution in the oceans. 



Could you provide additional information now with regard to 1) the 

 status of that plan, and 2) to any monitoring activities which may have 

 occurred at tne Mid-Atlantic dumpsites since tnat time? 



What future monitoring plans does EPA have for Mid-Atlantic area? 



Container evaluation? 



Water sampling? 



Biota sampling (otner than market- survey)? 



Sediment sampling? 



Current measurements? 



Suspended particle measurements? 



ANSWER 



The 1981 EPA/NOAA draft program plan for monitoring radioactivity 

 in the oceans has been implemented, in part, for some aspects of 

 monitoring that were described in the plan. Examples include:'. 1) the 

 1982 EPA radiological monitoring survey in Massachusetts Bay, 2) the 

 collection and analyses of marketplace seafood samples from Boston, 

 Atlantic City, and San Francisco by EPA and the Food and Drug 

 Administration (FDA) for determining levels of radioactivity, and 

 3) the collection of sediment and biota samples by NOAA ships operating 

 in Massacnusetts Bay for radioanalysis by the EPA. 



No additional ocean oottom research at the Atlantic disposal sites 

 nas occurred since 1978. EPA' s monitoring activities, with regard to 

 radioactivity, since 1981 nave focused on Massachusetts Bay and the 

 Marketplace Sampling and Analysis Program with FDA. 



The OtlP has considered additional monitoring at both the 3800 and 

 2800 meter Atlantic disposal sites with our present levels of funding, 

 and considering otner program priorities, we are unable to launch any 

 major survey efforts. Ocean bottom research is quite costly and, 

 therefore, since we nave visited eacn major site, and some more than 

 once, we have subsequently stressed the types of studies in which EPA 

 is cooperating in a larger effort, involving many related interests. 

 We will attempt to take advantage of any other sampling programs 

 conducted by others to obtain samples for radionuclide analysis. No 

 specific studies of old Atlantic dumpsites are planned at this time. 



