Evening star., 1954-10-27
Radioactive Wastes
Given Oceun Burial
Great Core Accompanies
Disposal Of Hot Items
BY Thomos r. Henry

A thousand fathoms deep IS to. 100
miles out In the Atlantic Is straAge
cemetery.
Into this graveyard every month or
so are placed one or more children's
"cofins." They have been brought at
night from the National Institutes Of
Health at Bethesda to the dock at Nor
folk, loaded with the utmost care on
q Coast Guard cutter especially pro-
vided for the bizarre obsequies, and
taken to sea.
The site Of each grave is determined
with precision so that 1t always can
be located.
These 'coflns" they actually are
concrete burial vaults for small chill
dren-naturally do not contain corpses
Of infants. They are packed two-thirds
full with atomic wastes-clothing, fur
niShingS, etc., which have been con-
taminated with radioactive isotopes
from the experimental-and IN some
cases therapeutic-projects of the Ma
tional Institutes, which work with a
considerable number of these potent
substances and, due partly to the ex-
treme awareness of danger by the medi-
cal scientists, take extraordinary care
Of them.
Safest Method.
The present method of disposal was
arrived at after q considerable number
of experiments. Various types of con-
tainers were studied. In the end it was
determined, for various reasons, that
the most convenient, safest and most
economic container was the small burial
vault. Tests were made of earth burial.
This, 1t was concluded, was not entirely
safe, even quite remote from communi-
ties. There was always the possibility
OF leakage, or of some earth upheaval
which would break the vaults and toss
their contents to the surface.
Burial at sea was decided on only
after lengthy consultations with ocean,
ographers and biologists of the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service on the
possibility Of communicating sea life.
This, it was determined. is very close
to zero. There probably never can be
any absolute guard against leakage.
But, due to constant motion of ocean
currents. it was determined, whatever
occurs will soon be distributed so widely
that the addition to the residual radio
activity of the ocean will be quite small.
Good for a Century.
The vaults, it was determined, will
hold their contents reasonably secure
for at least century. BY that time it
is likely that the radioactivity of the
material will be reduced almost to the
vanishing point. Most of the isotopes
used by the Public Health Service SCI
entists are of relatively short half Lives
some only few days. A half-life
is the period during which one-half of
the radioactive atoms of certain ele-
ment will have exploded and become
inert. Half of what is left will undergo
the same process in the next half-life
period, and so on.
The "cof1ins" are filled to within
about four inches of the top with the
radioactive wastes. During the filling
period they are kept in secure under
ground vault. Then concrete is poured
on top of them, filing the vault, before
they are buried in the sea. Each
coffin" weighs from 900 to 1900 pounds
when 1t finally is put overheard.
Utmost care is used in transportation
over the 200 miles between Washington
and Norfolk. Each truck is accom-
panied by a monitor with instruments
to detect any escaping radiation.