Seabed Disposal — Where to Look

Abstract

The oceans cover more than 70% of the earth’s surface, and while they contain many valuable resources, they also cover some of the most inaccessible and unproductive areas of the planet. With their ability to detoxify and disperse contaminants, the oceans have for many years been used for disposal of biological and chemical wastes, but radioactive wastes present a more complex problem in that the ocean environment cannot detoxify them. Still it appears that certain oceanic areas—the mid-plate/mid-gyre regions— may possibly offer practical and nonpunitive areas for disposal of high-level radioactive wastes. A program is now under way at Sandia Laboratories to gather the data necessary to an understanding of the features and processes of the mid-plate/mid-gyre regions. This study seeks to identify (a) the knowledge necessary for a judgment concerning their use as a repository, and (b) the areas in which that knowledge is now lacking. We conclude that the geologic stability and relative uselessness o...