Contamination of the Northern Oceans from Releases of Radioactivity from the Former Soviet Union

• Main Author: Gomez, Leo S.
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: 12 MANAGEMENT OF RADIOACTIVE WASTES; AND NON-RADIOACTIVE WASTES FROM NUCLEAR FACILITIES; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; ARCTIC OCEAN; CONTAMINATION; RADIOACTIVE WASTES; RISK ASSESSMENT; RIVERS; MARINE DISPOSAL; RADIONUCLIDE MIGRATION; ARMENIA; AZERBAIJAN; BELARUS; ESTONIA; KAZAKHSTAN; KYRGYZSTAN; LATVIA; LITHUANIA; MOLDOVA; REPUBLIC OF GEORGIA; RUSSIAN FEDERATION; TAJIKISTAN; TURKMENISTAN; UKRAINE; UZBEKISTAN; Arctic; Arctic Ocean
• Online Access: http://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/7229; https://www.osti.gov/biblio/7229

During the Cold War the handling of Soviet military nuclear wastes was a classified topic--kept secret to hide the status and readiness of Soviet military forces. Following the end of the Cold War information about the handling of nuclear wastes by agencies of the Former Soviet Union (FSU) became available. The US Government response to the disclosure of disposal of radioactive wastes into the Arctic Ocean and into rivers that drain into the Arctic Ocean was the finding of the Arctic Nuclear Waste Assessment Program (ANWAP) in the Office of Naval Research (ONR). Projects were aided by ANWAP to study the behavior, transport, and fate of radionuclides in the Arctic Ocean. One of the research teams, the Risk Assessment Integration Group (RAIG) assessed the potential risks to humans and to the environment, particularly in the US Alaskan Arctic.