THE ATOMIC ENERGY COMMISSION PROGRAM 

 IN THE MARINE SCIENCES 



by 



Arnold Joseph 



Marine Scientist 



U. S. Atomic Energy Commission 



The Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) program in the marine sciences is 

 mission oriented. The mission has three parts: (a) to develop data which 

 establish levels of radioactivity which would be safe in the marine en- 

 vironment; (b) to understand the marine environment well enough to permit 

 design of radioactive devices that will not present a hazard to the health 

 and safety of the public; and (c) to utilize radioactive tools to increase 

 man's understanding of natural phenomena. Two examples illustrate the kind 

 of work under AEC's mission - one has to do with aerospace applications and 

 the other with a land-based nuclear reactor operation. 



Systems Nuclear Auxiliary Power devices and/or nuclear-powered reactors 

 are likely to be used on space vehicles in the future. If an accident were 

 to occur, and it is possible, the nuclear device could be introduced into 

 a marine environment. Under these conditions a nuclear excursion is pos- 

 sible, and the radioactive material could be dispersed as a spectrum of 

 large and small particles. Therefore, AEC is concerned with predicting the 

 time space distribution of the pieces and their possible effects on the en- 

 vironment. As basic input to this problem, studies have been made in co- 

 operation with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries on the fish and fisheries 

 within a 40-mile radius of the launch pads on both the East and West Coasts. 

 Studies have been completed on the physical diffusion characteristics of 

 the areas. Other studies in progress cover the meteorology and ground water 

 hydrology of the area. A study has just begun in which the University of 

 Florida is to simulate reactor debris, place the tracer material on the 

 bottom and determine its redistribution pattern and rate of translocation. 

 The simulated debris here is crushed concrete made to size and density and 

 impregnated with fluorescent material in order that it may be detected. A 

 possible problem is that the fluorescent tag does not decay, and there is 

 a possibility of a later test being contaminated by material from an earlier 

 test. However, 26 colors to choose from alleviate the problem somewhat. In 

 the University of Florida project, material ranging in size from 100 to 

 2,000 microns will be deposited on the bottom. Surface samples are passed 

 under a spectrofluorometer , where the number of each type of tagged grain 

 will be counted. 



The second example of work related to coastal engineering involves the 

 University of Washington and the Hanford reactor operations, A group at the 

 University is studying the sediments being transported by the Columbia River 

 to deep water off the coast. An instrument has been developed which can ob- 

 serve and measure water velocity in profile, and take samples of water and 

 sediments to determine the quantity and characteristics of the sediments 

 being transported. 



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