directed toward determining those environmental fac- 
tors that influence the movement of radionuclides 
through the marine environment, the possible paths 
and rates of return of radioactivity to man through 
food webs, and basic ecological processes. Within 
this broad program were studies on_ biological, 
physical, and chemical oceanography, and studies 
related to operational activities such as the effect of 
waste heat on local ecosystems at nuclear power 
stations. 
When AEC was divided into the Energy Research 
and Development Administration (ERDA) and the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in 1975, its 
research program was inherited by ERDA. ERDA’s 
marine program became concerned not only with 
the fate, transport, and effects of radionuclides, but 
with all energy-derived products, including thermal 
energy, that might affect the marine environment. 
In 1977, ERDA was incorporated into DOE. The 
primary focus of the marine program is now on 
understanding dynamic systems and processes in 
order to predict how energy-related activities will 
affect the environment. The nature of such work is 
generally long-range since it involves natural, long- 
term fluctuations in the ecosystem, which must be 
determined and distinguished from short-term or 
anomalous events. These studies are important to 
all energy-related activities in the ocean, whether 
they involve biomass production, ocean thermal 
energy conversion, Outer Continental Shelf develop- 
ment, floating or onshore powerplants, petroleum 
development, or the transportation of energy-related 
materials. 
Other priorities of the DOE marine program are 
directed toward understanding specific energy- 
related processes such as hydrocarbon cycling 
through sediments and biota, the fate of atmo- 
spheric trace metal pollutants from combustion 
sources, the deposition rate of radionuclides, and the 
effects of powerplant effluent discharges on the eco- 
system. 
The DOE oil and gas program is developing in- 
dices for determining the health of the ecosystem by 
studying changes in behavior, photosynthesis activ- 
ity, immune responses, and fertility of marine organ- 
isms when subject to chronic and accidental oil 
release; determining flushing rates and current pat- 
terns of shelf areas to know what areas will be 
affected by petroleum releases and the length of time 
the pollution conditions will remain in the marine 
system; evaluating initial and continuing damage and 
recovery rates of biological systems affected by dif- 
ferent-sized spills of crude and refined oil for varying 
lengths of time; identifying compounds in crude and 
refined petroleums that are potentially damaging to 
the ecosystem and determining pathways of chemical 
and biological transformation of toxic compounds; 
determining bioavailability of toxic compounds re- 
leased during petroleum exploration and develop- 
ment by particle absorption, desorption, and suspen- 
sion in the water column. 
DOE supports a program to assess the ecological 
effects of water-cooling systems for use in ocean 
thermal energy conversion (OTEC), floating nu- 
clear plants for the generation of electricity, and 
conventional power plants. This program is directed 
to the development of validated models permitting 
quantitative estimates of how cooling systems affect 
mortalities in representative freshwater, brackish 
water, and marine populations; the determination of 
the identity, quantity, and environmental effects of 
persistent compounds formed through chlorination 
or other biocide treatment of cooling water and the 
evaluation of alternatives to chlorination; the devel- 
opment of alternative designs for intake structures 
to reduce or eliminate the mortalities associated with 
conventional structures and procedures; and the 
assessment of the effects of cooling system effluents 
on organisms. 
Another DOE program is aimed at providing en- 
vironmental, health, and safety data for use in the 
development of offshore nuclear powerplants and 
establishing criteria for the safe disposal of high- 
level radioactive wastes in the ocean. This program 
focuses on characterizing the processes and mechan- 
isms governing the movement, geochemical behavior, 
and effects of radionuclides in the marine environ- 
ment, including their transmission through the food 
chain. In a complementary project, EPA is studying 
low- and intermediate-level radioactivity at nuclear 
waste disposal sites used between 1946 and 1970. 
(See discussion of EPA program in chapter VI.) 
DOE does not conduct inhouse research, per se. 
The program is based on research contracts to both 
on-site (the four contractor-operated National Labo- 
ratories) and six off-site (primarily university) insti- 
tutions. To integrate environmental research projects 
with the activities of other Federal agencies, and 
with personnel in the field, regional scientific coordi- 
nators have been designated for the South Atlantic 
Bight; the Northeast, particularly the Mid-Atlantic 
Bight; and the Northwest. 
DOE’s multidisciplinary programs are organized 
on a regional basis. The three largest regional proj- 
ects are: (1) physical and biological studies in the 
Mid-Atlantic Bight to define movement of water 
masses, particularly across boundary layers, and 
their influence on biomass production (Brookhaven 
National Laboratory); (2) food chain studies in the 
South California Bight to determine the influence of 
climate and physical and chemical factors on bio- 
mass production (Scripps Institution of Oceanog- 
raphy); and (3) radionuclide cycling in deep and 
shallow oceanic systems (Woods Hole Oceano- 
graphic Institution). 
VII-30 
