14, 



551 was completed, a meeting of several scientists from the United 

 States and the United Kingdom was held, with liberal exchange of infor- 

 mation concerning the problems of the disposal of radioactive wastes to 

 the oceans. At that meeting it was learned that the British Atomic Energy 

 Authority plant at Windscale, on the Irish Sea, was discharging low level 

 liquid wastes through a three mile long pipeline, directly into the Irish 

 Sea. The British Atomic Energy Authority was at that time authorized to 

 discharge at the rate of 1000 curies per month. The basis for authori- 

 zation was a series of studies which included (1) the detailed circulation 

 of the Irish Sea area immediately seaward from the Windscale plant; 



(2) the uptake of activity by migratory fish that pass through the area; 



(3) the contamination of an edible seaweed that is harvested in an ad- 

 joining area, estimated from the circulation study and uptake experiments; 

 and (4) the level of contannination of local beaches, estimated from the 

 circulation study. 



It is now believed that as a result of monitoring studies made 

 during the build-up to the 1000 curie per month discharge level, and 

 a reassessment of the "safety factors" that were included in the original 

 studies and recommendations, authorization has been given to discharge 

 at the rate of 10,000 curies per month. 



A summary of the discussions at the ineeting has been distributed 

 under the title, "Report of a Meeting of United Kingdom and United 



