Technology Applicable to Monitoring Deep Seabed Disposal of Nuclear Wastes

Man-kind has long utilized the ocean for disposal of materials which are difficult or hazardous to dispose of ashore. Over the years, this use has tended toward deeper sites further from shore. This has increased the isolation from man, as well as the difficulties associated with monitoring the impact of such disposal. The long lifetimes associated with radioactive wastes imply that any future deep ocean disposal of these wastes might require monitoring for periods of 100 years or more in remote ocean locations. This paper addresses the technological and operational demands that deep ocean disposal of such wastes might present to the community responsible for monitoring its impact on the environment, as well as the limitations of current technology.