2. To select appropriate indicator organisms to be used in 

 surveys for radio nuclides in marine environments; 



3. To learn of the possible effects on the fishing industry; 



k. To obtain basic data useful in determining the fate of 



radio nuclides in the water medium and also in the develop- 

 ment of mechanisms for the removal of such nuclides from 

 the aquatic environment. 



Comprehensive program development projects are underway for the Columbia 

 River Basin and the Chesapeake Bay and Susquehanna River Basins. These 

 studies will include the water quality requirements and pollution 

 control measures needed for the maximum utilization of the estuarine, 

 harbor and inshore waters associated with the Columbia River Basin 

 and Chesapeake Bay. All pollutants and their effects will be determined, 

 including chemical toxicants and radioactive materials. 



ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION 



FY-62 $3,8UO,000 

 FY-63 $5,33^000 

 Radioactive materials have been added to the ocean from a variety of 

 sources, including fallout from nuclear tests, packaged waste disposal, 

 the operation of river and shore based reactors and the operation of 

 ocean-going vessels. Since the magnitude of added radioactivity from 

 some of these sources, as well as from exploitation of additional 

 applications of nuclear energy in the ocean, is increasing, it is 

 necessary to determine the actual and potential impact of such intro- 

 duction of radioactivity on man and his marine resources. An understanding 

 of general principles must be developed as well as an explanation of the 

 processes resulting from addition of radiation and radioactive isotopes. 



The marine sciences research in the AEC is aimed at the determination 

 of the impact of radioactivity on the oceans and their contained life. 

 Such research may be in reasonably close support of developments in 

 nuclear devices and their operational testing „ However, the research 

 problems generally have applications that extend well beyond the specific 

 experiment. 



Research into the abundance, periodicities and fluctuations, as well 

 as of the economic importance of marine organisms, are made of areas 

 adjacent to or potentially affected by such operations and sites for 

 disposal of wastes from nuclear industries . Studies include inter- 

 relationships of organisms in food webs, reproductive cycles, 

 migratory habits, aggregation, etc. in order to evaluate properly 

 the many ways that radioactivity may be concentrated and dispersed 

 in the marine environment . 



-hi- 



