Ocean disposal of radioactive waste or Ocean dumping is a method practiced from 1946 through 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 the waste to ocean floor and deposit the waste within seabed. Ocean floor disposal was studied but not implemented.
Contents |
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 (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-TECDOC-1105.[1] page 3-4
Data are from IAEA-TECDOC-1105.[1] Summary of page 27-120
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.
USSR, UK, Switzerland, US, Belgium, France, Netherlands, Japan, Sweden, Russia, New Zealand, Germany, Italy and Korea had dumped waste at over 100 dumping sites.
| Country | dumped (unit TBq=1012Bq） | period | num of sites, volume, etc. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic | Atlantic | Pacific | Total | |||
| USSR | 38,369 | 0 | 874 | 39,243 | 1959-92[2] | Arctic; 20 sites, 222x103m3 and reactor w or w/o spent fuel, Pacific Ocean (mainly sea of Japan); 12 sites, 145x103m3 |
| Russia | 0.7 | 0 | 2.1 | 2.8 | 1992-93 | Arctic; 3,066m3, Pacific Ocean 6,327m3 |
| Belgium | 0 | 2,120 | 0 | 2,120 | 1960-82 | NE Atlantic 6 sites, 55,324 containers, 23.1x103tons |
| France | 0 | 354 | 0 | 354 | 1967-69 | NE Atlantic 2 sites, 46,396 containers, 14.3x103tons |
| Germany | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 1967 | NE Atlantic 1 site once, 480 containers, 185tons |
| Italy | 0 | 0.2 | 0 | 0.2 | 1969 | NE Atlantic 1 site, 100 containers, 45tons |
| Netherlands | 0 | 336 | 0 | 336 | 1967-82 | NE Atlantic 4 sites, 28,428 containers, 19.2x103tons |
| Sweden | 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, |
| Switzerland | 0 | 4,419 | 0 | 4,419 | 1969-82 | NE Atlantic, 3 sites, 7,420 containers, 5,321 tons |
| UK | 0 | 35,088 | 0 | 35,088 | 1948-82 | NE Atlantic 15 sites, ?? containers, 74,052 tons and 18 sites off coast of British isles more than 9.4 TBq |
| USA | 0 | 2,942 | 554 | 3,496 | 1946-70 | Mid/NW of Atlantic(9), Gulf of Mexico(2) total 11 sites, 34,282 containers, ? tones, Mid/NE of Pacific Ocean, total of 18 sites, 56,261 containers, ? tones |
| Japan | 0 | 0 | 15.08 | 15.08 | 1955-69 | South of main island, 6 sites 15 times, 3,031 containers, 606x103m3 |
| New Zealand | 0 | 0 | 1.04 | 1.04 | 1954-76 | East coast of New Zealand, 4 sites, 9 containers, 0.62m3 |
| South Korea | 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-TECDOC-1105.[1] page 6-7, 14
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-TECDOC-1105.[1] page 27-120
Mainly at the east coast of Novaya Zemlya at Kara Sea and relatively small proportion at Barentz Sea by USSR. Dumped at 20 sites from 1959-92[2], total of 222x103m3 including reactors and spent fuel.
Began with UK dumping in 1948 and last dumping in 1982 by UK, Switzerland, Belgium and Netherland. UK had reported many dumping around UK isles which were relatively low level or no available data and not plotted in the map.
78% of dumping at Atlantic Ocean is done by UK (35,088TBq), followed by Switzerland (4,419TBq), USA (2,924TBq) and Belgium (2,120TBq). Sunken USSR nuclear submarines are not included. see List of sunken nuclear submarines
137x103tones were dumped by 8 European countries. USA did not report tonnage nor volume of 34,282 containers.
USSR 874TBq, USA 554 TBq, Japan 15.1TBq, New Zealand 1+TBq and unknown figure by South Korea. 751x103m3 were dumped by Japan and USSR. USA did not report tonnage nor volume of 56,261 containers.
Dumping of contaminated water at 2011 Fukushima Nuclear accident (estimate 4,700-270,00TBq) is not included.
USSR dumped 749TBq in the Sea of Japan, Japan dumped 15.1TBq south of main island. South Korea dumped 45 tones (unknown radio activity value) in the Sea of Japan.
Data are from IAEA-TECDOC-1105.[1] page 7
Arctic Ocean dump sites
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 dump 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 dump 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 dump sites of USSR, Japan, Russia and Korea
The joint Japanese-Korean-Russian expedition (1994-95) concluded that contamination are mainly by global fallout.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||