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Ocean disposal of radioactive wasteorOcean dumping is a method practiced from 1946 to 1993 by many countries to dispose nuclear/radioactive waste. There is a similar but different method studied by UK and Sweden which is Ocean floor disposal (or Sub seabed disposal). Concept of Ocean floor disposal is actively deliver waste to ocean floor and deposit waste within seabed. This method was studied but not practiced.
Ocean dumping is the first method practiced by early nuclear adapting countries to dispose radioactive waste in second half of 20th century. Then other industrial waste also dumped at sea or river without much concern about environment impacts.
Since first disposal of 1946 by US at the Northeast Pacific Ocean Ocean (80km off coast of California), 13 countries had disposed nuclear waste including liquid and solid waste, reactor vessels with and without spent or damaged nuclear fuel into the oceans until 1993.[1]
Ocean dumping of radioactive waste is not permitted by a number of international agreements. (London Convention (1972), Basel Convention, MARPOL 73/78)
Data are from IAEA_tec1105.[1]
Data are from IAEA_tec1105.[1] Disposals were taken place under consideration of;
However some of dumping were just done to dilute radioactive waste with surface water, or containers implode at depth. Even containers survive with pressure but its physical structure will decay in time at ocean floor and start leaking radioactive material.
SU 124TBq
SU 749TBq
BE_2,120TBq
JP 15.1TBq
KR ?TBq
NZ 1.0TBq
CH_4,419TBq
GB_35,088TBq
US 2,942TBq
US 554TBq
USSR, UK, Switzerland, US, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Russia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy and Korea had dumped waste at over 100 dumping site.
Country | dumped (unit TBq=1012Bq) | period | num of sites, volume, etc. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Arctic | Atlantic | Pacific | Total | |||
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38,369 | 0 | 874 | 39,243 | 1959-91 | Arctic; 20 sites, 222x103m3 and reactor w or w/o spent fuel, Pacific Ocean (mainly sea of Japan); 12 sites, 145x103m3 |
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0.7 | 0 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 1992-93 | Arctic; 3,066m3, Pacific Ocean (mainly sea of Japan) 6,327m3 |
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0 | 2,120 | 0 | 2,120 | 1960-82 | NE Atlantic 6 sites, 55,324 containers, 23.1x103tons |
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0 | 354 | 0 | 354 | 1967-69 | NE Atlantic 2 sites, 46,396 containers, 14.3x103tons |
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0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 1967 | NE Atlantic 1 site once, 480 containers, 185tons |
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0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 1969 | NE Atlantic 1 site, 100 containers, 45tons |
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0 | 336 | 0 | 336 | 1967-82 | NE Atlantic 4 sites, 28,428 containers, 19.2x103tons |
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0 | 3.2 | 0 | 3.2 | 1959,61,69 | baltic sea 1 site, 230 containers, 64 tons, NE Atlantic 1 site, 289.5 containers, 1,080 tons, |
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0 | 4,419 | 0 | 4,419 | 1969-82 | NE Atlantic, 3 sites, 7,420 containers, 5,321 tons |
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0 | 35,088 | 0 | 35,088 | 1948-82 | NE Atlantic 15 sites, ?? containers, 74052 tons and 18 sites off coast of British isle more than 9.4 TBq |
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0 | 2,942 | 554 | 3,496 | 1946-70 | Central(2) and NW(7) of Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico(2) total 11 sites, 34,282 containers, ?? tones, Central (2) and NE of Pacific Ocean (16), total of 18 sites, 56261 containers, ?? tones |
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0 | 0 | 15.08 | 15.08 | 1955-69 | off the coast of Izu, 6 sites 15 times, 3,031 containers, 606x103m3 |
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0 | 0 | 1.04 | 1.04 | 1954-76 | east coast of New Zealand, 4 sites, 9 containers, 0.62m3 |
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0 | 0 | no data | 1968-72 | sea of Japan, 1 site 5 times?, 115 container, 45 tons | |
Total | 38,369 | 45,262 | 1,446 | 85,077 |
Total of 85.1x1015 Becquerel(Bq)(initial radioactivity at the time of dump) of radio active waste were disposed at sea.
< other values for comparison >
Data are from IAEA_tec1105.[1]
Liquid waste
Solid waste
Reactor vessels
Waste type | Atlantic | Pacific Ocean | Arctic | total | note |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reactors with spent fuel | Nil | Nil | 36,876 | 36,876 | |
Reactors w/o fuel | 1,221 | 166 | 143 | 1,530 | |
Low Level solid | 44,043 | 821 | 585 | 45,449 | |
Low level liquid | <0.001 | 459 | 765 | 1,223 | |
Total | 45,264 | 1445 | 38,369 | 85,078 |
Data are from IAEA_tec1105.[1]
Marksize
0-10TBq;4, 10-100TBq;6, 100-1000TBq;8, 1000-10000TBq;11, over;15
Arctic Ocean dump sites
SU
SU
SU
SU
19654TBq
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
14580TBq
SU
SU
SU
RU
SE
North Atlantic dump sites
F+G+B+D+N
S
C
G
G+B
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G
G+F+B+S+N+I
G+B+C+N
G+C+B+N
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
SU
SU
SU
US
US
US
US
US
Pacific Ocean
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
SU
RU
RU
RU
JP
JP
JP
JP
JP
JP
KR
NZ3
NZ4
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
US
Sea of Japan
119
18
483
20
105
10.8
KR?
Data are from IAEA_tec1105.[1]
Arctic Ocean dumped by USSR and Russia
The joint Russian-Norwegian expeditions (1992-94) collected sample from four waste dumping sites. at immediate vicinity of waste containers, elevated levels of radionuclide are found, but not contaminated surrounding area.
North-East Atlantic Ocean dumping site
Dumped by UK, Switzerland, Belgium, France, Netherland, Sweden, German and Italy. IAEA had been studied since 1977. in the report of 1996 by CRESP suggests measurable leakages of radioactive material but concluded that environmental impact is negligible.
North-East Pacific Ocean, North-West Atlantic Ocean dumping sites of USA
these sites are monitored by US EPA and US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. So far no excess level of radionuclides were found in sample (sea water, sediments) collected in the area, except the sample taken at close location of disposed packages which contained elevated level of isotopes of caesium and plutonium.
North-West Pacific Ocean Ocean dumped by USSR, Japan, Russia and Korea
The joint Japanese-Korean-Russian expedition (1994-95) concluded that contamination are mainly by global fallout.
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