- 39 they are the concern of all, thus it is essential to begin now to accumulate the information that will be needed to make wise recommendations about sea disposal of radioactive wastes, In the United States something less than 6,000 curies of low level wastes were added to the water off the Atlantic coast between 1951 and 1958. The amount disposed of is a maximum estimate as it often was estimated from the quantity received by the user without correction for loss during use or for radioactive decay. The waste, which is contained in more than 8,400 drums of 55-gallon to which concrete was added, capacity has been deposited in more than seven localities in designated areas about 200 miles otf the Atlantic coast in approximately 1,000 fathoms of water (NASNRC No. 655). It is doubtful ir radioisotopes from these Gisposals can be detected in Atlantic coastal waters by conventional means. A Committee of the National Academy of Sciences has recently considered the use of areas closer to shore than the present disposal sites for disposal of radioactive wastes. Carefully determined values for the concentration of radioisotopes in sea water have been established by the Committee (NAS-NRC No. 655) and it is their opinion that