Preventing new ocean disposal of hazardous waste
#00121
Stopping new ocean disposal is upstream of every other facet: the 200,000+ drums on the abyssal plain exist because deliberate sea dumping was accepted practice for decades. The priority now is keeping the ban in force, extending it to adjacent proposals, and ensuring it is actua
#00126Deep-sea disposal by dilution and dispersion Pending
Encase radioactive waste in resin, bitumen or cement, drum it, and sink it onto the deep abyssal plain far from shore — relying on the ocean's volume and assumed stability to dilute any eventual release below harmful levels. The mainstream radioactive-waste disposal route for se…
#00125Binding international prohibition on ocean dumping (London Convention/Protocol)
A treaty regime that first moratoriumed (1983) then permanently banned (from 1993) the dumping of radioactive waste at sea, shifting from case-by-case permits to blanket prohibition. It is the approach that actually stopped new drums entering the ocean.
#00127Bulk retrieval and onshore re-containment of dumped drums Pending
Recover dumped drums from the deep seabed and transfer them to engineered, monitored, retrievable onshore storage — removing the waste from the marine environment entirely rather than leaving it to decay in place.