[ RadSafe ] ocean disposal versus the status quo

[Minnema, Douglas]

Regardless of whether or not it is a good idea, deep seabed disposal is way
past the point of discussion between the pro's and the anti's.  The United
States along with most other nations signed the London Convention in
October, 1993, banning until the year 2018 the disposal of radioactive
materials at sea.  After that time the option can be revisited at 25-year
intervals.

I'd have to do a little research to recall all of the reasons, but I believe
that many of them had to do with issues involving the fact that these were
international waters and there was no regulatory authority with
jurisdiction, and none could be agreed upon by all parties.  It also seems
to me that the reasons for the ban had more to do with uncontrolled dumping
of material by some nations and was not primarily directed at eliminating
this alternative for controlled disposal.

Of course, one could argue that if the discussion started now, then perhaps
we could make some progress with all of the parties by 2018, or at least by
2043.

Doug Minnema, PhD, CHP
National Nuclear Security Administration, US DOE

what few thoughts i have are truly my own ...

-----Original Message-----
From: radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl [mailto:radsafe-bounces at radlab.nl]On
Behalf Of James Salsman
Sent: Thursday, April 14, 2005 8:05 PM
To: Flanigan, Floyd
Cc: jjcohen; radsafe at radlab.nl
Subject: [ RadSafe ] ocean disposal versus the status quo


I recommend approaching Greenpeace and the like with the choice between
the status quo, where we have the waste under a few dozen feet of water
leeching into groundwater drinking supplies, and miles of ocean water.
If the casking is done right, the eventual sediment will trap the
daughter and neighbor isotopes well enough to make no difference.

Get them on record early in the debate saying whether ocean disposal
is any worse than the status quo, and then their eventual protests
that it isn't perfect will be weak.  None of the Greenpeace types is
going to defend the status quo, no matter how much they don't want
ocean disposal.

The ideal is the enemy of the acceptable, but the status quo hates us
all and has giant fangs.

Sincerely,
James Salsman