Assessing the Impact of Deep Sea Disposal of Low Level Radioactive Waste on Living Marine Resources

In revising the definition of high level radioactive waste unsuitable for dumping at sea, calculations of water concentrations in and near a dump site have been made and used to estimate doses to ‘typical’ marine species living at or near the sea floor at a depth of 4000 m. These calculations show that there are radionuclides that can give rise to significant doses to these typical species and that future revisions of the Definition and Recommendations under the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter will have to consider impacts on the marine ecosystem in setting limits for dumping.