Re: fuel rods and north sea

[don@radpro.uchicago.edu]

The June 1994 issue of the IAEA Bulletin Vol. 36, No. 2 has an article on
"Sea Disposal of Radioactive wastes: The London Convention" (at 12-16).  Many
Depository Libraries will have this periodical.  If you want a fax, let me know.

Works mentioned in this Bulletin Article are:

1.	IAEA Safety Series No. 5, "Radioactive Waste Disposal Into the Sea" (196 	(1961)

2.	"low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal: An Evaluation of Reports 
	Comparing Ocean and Land Based Disposal Options (TECDOC-562, 1990), IAEA)
3.	"Risk Comparisons Relevant to Sea Disposal of Low Level Radioactive
	Waste (TECDOC-725, 1993, IAEA).


Note that High Level Waste has been banned from ocean disposal since the 
London Convention of 1972.  However, it is now known that several Soviet
submarines were "disposed" in the Arctic ocean, some with fuel in place.

The IAEA Bulletin article states that 136.682 PBq. have been disposed of
into the oceans.  Of this 136 PBq., 90 PBq were dumped into the Arctic
Ocean by the FSU.  Interestingly, of the remaining 46 PBq,  35 PBq
were dumped by the United Kingdom into the Atlantic from 1967-1982.  The
United States, by way of comparison, dumped 3.5 PBq into both the Atlantic
and Pacific.

The article further states that "Raectors with and without fuel"  account for
1,000 TBq of activity disposed into the Atlantic; 4.3 TBq into the Pacific; 
and 88,800 TBq into the Arctic.  

I hope this helps.  This message may be duplicate replies you have already
received because I've let my mail pile up.  If so, My appologies.

BTW  You may also want to check the 1959 Industrial Radioactive Waste Disposal
Hearings held by the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy.  I know that they looked
at ocean disposal, but that was one of the volumes of hearings that I did not 
read.

Don