Radionuclide contamination of the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean from activities of the Former Soviet Union is of increasing concern. Several dump sites for nuclear reactors and other wastes have been identified in the Barents and Kara Seas, and many of the rivers discharging sources into the Arctic may be seriously polluted.
Less information is available on sources in the western Arctic.
Although the levels of radionuclides in Alaskan waters are currently low and levels in the eastern Arctic have decreased in recent years due to cessation of leakage, both sustained and catastrophic, must be considered. Such releases could result from breaching of watershed impoundments on rivers and from corrosion of containers dumped in the sea. Cooperative investigations including FSU scientists are particularly encouraged.