REPORT ON DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE ON LAND 



The Committee on Waste Disposal was set up at the request of 

 the Atomic Energy Commission to study the possibilities of dispos- 

 ing of radioactive waste materials on land and to indicate what re- 

 search was needed to determine feasibility. 



In September 1955 a conference was held at Princeton which 

 included representatives of AEC, members of the Department of 

 Sanitary Engineering of Johns Hopkins, representatives of the U.S. 

 Geological Survey, industry and many individual scientists compe- 

 tent in relevant fields. Informed opinions were rendered at the con- 

 ference on the questions asked by AEC so the present general report 

 can be a brief summary of the main conclusions. The factual data 

 resulting from the conference are included in this report as ap- 

 pendices . 



As an outgrowth of the conferences (the preliminary ones at 

 Johns Hopkins and the comprehensive one at Princeton) numerous 

 reports have been made by individuals and committees dealing with 

 the waste problem. In particular the summary by Drs. Hatch and 

 Lieberman for the NAS-NRC "Study Group on Dispersal and Disposal 

 of Radioactive Wastes" covers in adequate form much of -what might 

 have been included in a report of the present committee. 



The Conference and the subsequent studies of the Committee 

 made it obvious that there is no specific answer to such a question 

 as "How shall we dispose of radioactive waste?" On the other hand, 

 given a specific geographic site and specific type of waste, a spe- 

 cific answer as to feasibility and cost of waste disposal becomes pos- 

 sible. It is then a chemical engineering, geological and economic 

 investigation with definite parameters for which a definite answer or 

 series of answers can be sought. 



The Committee has considered the complex and varied prob- 

 lems of waste disposal on land and can express considered opinions 

 on various of the problems and the research needed to deal with the 

 problems. The Committee has in no sense done the research so that 

 such expressions of opinion as are contained herein are predicated on 

 the assumption that the research will be done before any final conclu- 

 sion is reached on any type of waste disposal. 



