Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea: Public Ideas ... - IMO

150 Chapter 8
transboundary transfer of radioactive materials and relative difficulties in
monitoring and retrieval of ocean dumped radioactive waste packages.
However, in what was obviously a compromise solution, it was also concluded
that “the same internationally accepted principles of radiological
protection apply equally to the scientific and technical assessment of all
radioactive waste disposal options” (LC/IGPRAD 1993, Annex 2, p. 51).
Rather incompatible with knowledge-based analysis, scientific consensus
still did not lead to a change in anti-dumping governments’ perception
of the radwaste disposal issue and, judging by its initial ambition to create
a consensus-building process, the IGPRAD process was not a success. 73
Some members were of the opinion that the risks from dumping at the
Northeast Atlantic dump site were “considerably smaller than the risks
associated with exposures to naturally occurring radionuclides and certain
organic chemicals in seafoods” (LC/IGPRAD 1993, Annex 2, p. 47). Other
members emphasized instead the uncertainty of theoretical models and lack
of knowledge of essential issues. Similarly, some believed that ocean disposal
should be included when conducting comparative risk assessments,
whereas others wished to exclude ocean disposal a priori because of the
transboundary nature of radwaste disposal and problems in monitoring
and retrieval of radioactive waste dumped.
An event of great political significance occurred in October of 1993,
when Greenpeace exposed a Russian warship dumping nearly 900 metric
tons of liquid low-level radioactive waste into the Sea of Japan (Hiatt 1993).
Japan had not been informed about the dumping. The Russian navy subsequently
explained that Russia did not have the land capacity to store
waste produced by the Russian nuclear-powered fleet. 74 The dumping
caused strong concern in Japan as it took place only a few days after
President Boris Yeltsin had been on a visit to Japan and the two countries
had signed an agreement to end nuclear contamination of the oceans. Also,
it sparked widespread concern in Japan about the possible contamination
of fish and other sea life. Responding to protests from Japan, South Korea,
the United States, and other countries, Russia canceled plans to dump
another cargo of 700 metric tons of radwaste into the Sea of Japan.
Immediately after the incident, Japan announced it would support a nuclear
dumping ban at the 1993 London Convention meeting. 75
In the fall of 1993, after an interdepartmental power struggle, a significant
reversal of U.S. foreign policy on radwaste disposal took place. In early