(3) 
great variety. 
Eliminating Hazards of Ocean Disposal: Direct hazards 
can be eliminated by dumping wastes in submerged packages in deep 
water far from land where they would be practically impossible to 
recover. These hazards may also be eliminated by diluting the 
waste to a level that represents no hazard at all. Indirect and 
ecological hazards can be avoided by keeping the radioactive materials 
out of the biological and biochemical systems in the sea. These 
hazards can be minimized by isolating and diluting the active 
(10) 
material. 
Possible Tolerance Levels for Ocean Disposal: Allowable 
concentrations of radioisotopes in air and in drinking water were 
calculated by considering how much of water and air are consumed. 
By using a figure considered safe for a body burden it is possible 
to work back and calculate what the permissible concentration is 
for direct human contact. Going back a step further it is possible 
to figure how the marine organisms might Prsubnebhy ie used as 
food by humans and thus represent a direct tee 
At the present time it is not possible to even estimate what 
tolerance levels may be because there are. too many unknow factors. 
Isotopic dilutions of elements in the sea, the amount of radiation 
a population can be exposed to without upsetting the population, the 
time of recycling of isotopes in the sea and the circulation of 
the sea which would determine volumetric dilution, are some of 
the unknowns which have to be determined before the safety of sea 
(3) 
disposal can be evaluated. 
-52- 
