RADIO-ACTIVE WASTE DUMPED AT SEA

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30178, 9 July 1963, Page 12

RADIO-ACTIVE WASTE DUMPED AT SEA

Equipment which carried radio-active contamination was commonly broken down into pieces of manageable size, set in concrete in drums, and deposited in ocean deeps at points designated by the Marine Department, said the director of the Dominion Xray and Radium Laboratory, Department of Health (Mr G. E. Roth). He was commenting on a report that fittings from the Victoria University of Wellington were awaiting disposal at -sea because radioactive material had been spilt on them. Some radio-active materials were disposed of deep in rubbish-tips, Mr Roth added. The materials were buried, under strict supervision; beneath many feet of rubble where there was no possibility .of any harm resulting. When equipment became contaminated, a balance usually had to be mlde between the cost of disposing of it and the coSt of decontamination, Mr Roth said. Sometimes, however, where the contaminating material had a relatively short half-Jife, a satisfactory solution was to place the equipment in safe storage until the radioactivity had fallen off to a safe level.

Containers and workers' protective hoods used in applying luminous paint, for example, were normally disposed of at sea in concrete he said. Walls and other fixtures which could be expected to become contaminated during the operations were painted beforehand with a paint which was stripped off after contamination and a new coat applied. Occasionally, potentially dangerous materials escaped from sealed radio-active sources into their surroundings: in these case, it was sometimes necessary to detroy everything which had become contaminated. To guard against any serious mishap ,uch a . n hi« laboratory regularly cheeked premises where radio-active materials were being stored

or used, to make sure there were no undue levels of radio-activity. Drums containing radioactive wastes for ocean disposal were entrusted by the laboratory to captains of ships crossing the areas designated by the Marine Department.