Work of the National Committee on Radiation Protection (NCRP) and Others. 
The National Committee on Radiation Protection has studied the 
matter of ocean disposal of radioactive wastes and has prepared a 
handbook on the subject.* However, the recommendations in this hand- 
book refer to relatively small amounts of radioactivity. Definite 
recommendations, such as packaging wastes in concrete and dumping 
in depths 1000 fathoms or greater, were possible because of prior, 
accumulated akeaeean | 
Definition of the Problem: One of the most prominent difficulties 
encountered in studying problems of this kind is that of semantics. 
Words such as pollution, containment and disposal have to be defined. 
Pollution: Pollution is the result of the accumulation of by-products 
of man's activity in the environment: land, air or water. The term 
applies when the accumulation has detrimental effects aesthetically or 
on human health. Pollution sometimes results in catastrophic changes 
in natural life in the area affected and it may be a cumulative event 
causing a gradual change over a period of up to hundreds of years. 
Containment: Containment is defined as storage in vats, pits or burial 
on land. Contained material is available for recovery or for relocation. 
As long as this material can be guarded from people, or vice versa, 
it is not a hazard to life or property. Disposal: [In disposal, the 
waste material is released to the environment and is no longer available 
for recovery, relocating or guarding. Releasing to the ocean is an 
act of disposing; it is a final act; the material is not expected to 
(10) 
be recovered. 
ar EE FREE RE RE RN RR A NR ESR SRA SMEARS TASS OOO 
* National Bureau of Standards, Handbook 58, "Radioactive Waste Disposal 
in the Ocean." 49 
