77. 



square miles, or a square of 6.3 miles to the side -- the size of a 

 large oil field. 



For comparison, in the East Texas oil field, 100 million barrels 

 of water per year are currently being injected through 58 wells with 

 7-inch casings. Eight wells take over 10,000 barrels per day each 

 without pumping. 



Since structural basins this size, or much larger, are abundant, 

 it is concluded that the deep underground disposal of wastes for a long 

 time to come would involve operations which are small as compared 

 with those of the petroleum industry. 



The various other phases of the deep disposal question were dis- 

 cussed in considerable detail by the committee, and finally a subcom- 

 mittee drew up a summary of the conclusions which were approved and 

 read as follows: 



The committee has accepted as premises the following: 



A. That the nuclear waste, if stored underground, should be 

 isolated as permanently as possible from contact with living organisms; 



B. That the nuclear waste may be stored under conditions where 

 it need not be recovered; 



C. That the disposal of waste is a special problem for each par- 

 ticular installation. 



However, it is concluded that certain general principles should 

 guide the selection of methods of disposal: 



1. That the liquids containing the nuclear waste shall have a 

 greater specific gravity when introduced into the reservoir than the 

 liquids already present in the reservoir; 



2. That the liquids shall be stored underground preferably where 

 they will remain under essentially static conditions; 



3 . That the introduction of the fluids into the bottom of structural 

 basins is one means of satisfying effectively this condition; 



4. That adequate monitoring of the distribution of nuclear waste 

 within the reservoir be provided by appropriate observation wells, 



