[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 19 (Monday, February 28, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: February 28, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
             DANGERS OF OCEAN DUMPING OF NUCLEAR MATERIALS

  Mr. DURENBERGER. Mr. President, the current practice of dumping 
radioactive waste in ocean waters poses a great danger to the 
environment and the people of this planet. We must act on our concern 
for this problem using readily available technology to clear the seas 
of these very dangerous contaminants. Only through remedial action can 
we preserve the quality of our oceans for future generations.
  I wish to take this opportunity to share with my colleagues a recent 
article from the International Economy, written by Koji Yamazaki, 
deputy chairman of the Board of Counselors, The Japan Research 
Institute, Ltd., in Tokyo. Mr. Yamazaki has long been concerned about 
the harm to the ecology caused by the Russian Navy's dumping of 
radioactive wastes from nuclear-powered submarines in the Arctic Ocean 
and the Sea of Japan.
  The article entitled, ``The IMF-Soviet Submarine Connection: A Letter 
to Vice President Al Gore'' explores the risk from present wastes 
dumped in the ocean and the need to harness commercially available 
technologies to clean up these wastes. The author calls upon a 
consortium of nations--including the United States, Japan, and Russia--
to participate in this most important endeavor. He suggests a unique 
approach to financing this project through the auspices of the 
International Monetary Fund.
  Mr. Yamazaki has addressed his concerns about ocean dumping of 
nuclear wastes to our former colleague, Vice President Al Gore, because 
of his record of accomplishment in improving the environment and 
because of his continuing efforts to make further progress.
  The problems created by the ocean dumping of radioactive materials 
are easily obscured in the other serious dangers to our environment. 
Mr. Yamazaki's article makes a significant contribution by drawing the 
attention of the international community to the need and present 
possibility of making the oceans of this world free of man-made nuclear 
contaminants. I want to express my gratitude to Mr. Yamazaki's lasting 
commitment to the resolution of this most important problem.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the article 
be included in the Record, and I urge my colleagues to read this 
article.
  There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

The IMF-Soviet Submarine Connection: A Letter To Vice-President Al Gore

                           (By Koji Yamazaki)

       Dear Mr. Vice President, recent reports from the Russian 
     Presidential Office reveal facts, to date concealed, on ocean 
     dumping of radioactive wastes from nuclear-powered submarines 
     by the former Soviet Union (FSU). Obsolete nuclear reactors, 
     some with spent nuclear fuels intact, have been dumped in the 
     Arctic Ocean and the Sea of Japan by the former Soviet navy. 
     These reactors contain some of the most toxic materials known 
     to man, including cesium and strontium, that remain 
     radioactive for generations.We cannot afford to wait to 
     discover the long term effects of this nuclear waste.
       Unless this barbarous dumping is halted at once the present 
     as well as the future health of the human race will be 
     seriously endangered. It is imperative that we, by every 
     means possible, jointly persuade Russia to stop submarine 
     dumping at once and ensure that such acts are never repeated.
       In response to this some would say, ``As long as the water 
     temperatures are low and the currents are slow, the risks are 
     very small.'' Yet I would strongly disagree.
       Even King Solomon at the height of his wisdom did not 
     understand the way of a man with a maiden. How can we discern 
     the way of fish in the ocean? Indeed, there are four things 
     that are too horrifying for me, four things that I do not 
     understand: the way fish eat; the way the ecosystems change; 
     the way metal decays; and the way oceans move. These are 
     issues of the food chain; chain reactions in the marine 
     ecosystem; containers becoming rotten under the deep water 
     and radioactive substances leaking out over time, and 
     ``upwelling water''--a phenomenon, not yet scientifically 
     clarified, but which is the sudden upsurge of water occurring 
     in otherwise calm deep water.
       Mr. Vice President, if you cannot guarantee that the waters 
     will remain still and cold, the risk is so high that the 
     whole of mankind will be affected.
       For the sake of our children and our children's children, 
     we cannot afford to take the risk.
       One thing is very clear: simply adopting another 
     international declaration will not solve the problem. Marine 
     dumping has been illegal for a long time and what we need 
     now is action.


                          ensuring compliance

       Is it possible to remedy the situation with technology? The 
     answer is yes, but only if the advanced technology of the 
     West is fully utilized. In the case of obsolete Russian 
     submarines with spent nuclear fuels remaining in their 
     reactors, advanced robotics technology, as well as the spent 
     fuel management technology of the U.S., Japan and Europe are 
     indispensable for the safe disassembling of these reactors. 
     These technologies are commercially available, but expensive.
       The safe treatment of liquid radioactive wastes from atomic 
     submarines already dumped in the ocean requires other 
     advanced technologies from the West. This process of recovery 
     is more complicated but also possible, if we take prompt 
     action.
       Mr. Vice President, as the West already has this 
     technology, what is needed is to orchestrate the joint 
     efforts of the West--the U.S., Japan and Europe--and Russia, 
     too, into working harmony. Now that the Cold War is over, the 
     West needs a new vision--a vision not of fighting, but of 
     working together. In that sense, tackling these common 
     problems together is a new step--a sure and endurable step 
     that leads to the peace of the world.
       However, the real problem is not merely the technology but 
     how to finance the operations, since the amount of money 
     required would be significant.
       Mr. Vice President, here is a novel idea on how to fund the 
     hunt for the new ``Red Octobers,'' that are presently ticking 
     away under the oceans. In the International Monetary Fund 
     (IMF), which is the central organization for economic aid to 
     the FSU, there exists a system called Special Drawing Rights 
     (SDR), a mechanism of so-called ``artificial money 
     creation.''
       In short, in allocating SDRs we have to take two 
     fundamental aspects into account. One is the need to avoid 
     inflation. This is a matter of principle. For example, the 
     allocation of SDRs to aid LDCs cannot be admitted, as there 
     are theoretically no limits to LDC aid. For SDRs to be 
     allocated it is absolutely necessary to have a limit, a 
     clear-cut defined limit.
       Second is the relationship to international liquidity. This 
     is a matter of logic. It's true to say that when the SDR 
     system was first introduced it was formulated so that 
     allocations would be acceptable only to satisfy the need 
     to supplement global international liquidity. If we stick 
     to this original notion it would be almost impossible to 
     admit the SDR allocation when total liquidity is as great 
     as it is now.
       However, the IMF is, in essence, an organization composed 
     of sovereign states. Their consensus, or a majority opinion, 
     can become the spirit as well as the interpretation of the 
     IMP rules and regulations. Using SDRs to hunt and destroy the 
     new Red Octobers overcomes the financing issue facing the G7 
     countries in their aid to Russia's inherited problems from 
     the FSU.
       It may be argued that environmental issues do not fall 
     under the mandates of the IMF. Contrary to this argument, I 
     believe that crucially important issues such as these--which 
     have much to do with the present as well as the future 
     hereditary soundness of the species called ``human beings''--
     should be included in the IMF mission.
       Mr. Vice President, if it proves to be impossible to tackle 
     this problem only because of the amount of money needed, 
     given the presently constrained financial conditions of most 
     of the countries of the West, then it would be wise and 
     advisable to allow the allocation of SDR's.
       In this case, even though the amount of money involved is 
     significant, there exists a limit, a very definable limit. 
     Because of this there would be no risk of inflation. The 
     worst policy would be to postpone taking action, or to spend 
     time on extended studies and observations because there isn't 
     enough money to tackle the issue. Soon it will be too late to 
     act: the real damage would have been done to the seas, fish, 
     human beings, and to life as we know it.
       By altering the existing rules and regulations, the SDR 
     allocated in this way should not be distributed to the 
     contracting parties according to their quota shares, but 
     pooled (all or part) in a fund established at the IMF and 
     paid directly to the firms that actually do the job.
       It will be better not to given Russia a lump sum, but 
     instead to make payments directly to the parties carrying out 
     the work. This will stop the monetary aid from being 
     politicized and improve the overall efficiency of that 
     aid. The former Soviet navy has for years handled nuclear 
     submarine disposal by dumping reactors at sea. Mr. Yeltsin 
     has officially confirmed this as fact.
       There are four questions that need to be addressed. The 
     first question is: Why give this aid to Russia? The answer 
     is: By providing Russia this aid we are saving the world's 
     oceans. This is a global emergency. It's not Alaska alone, 
     but the whole United States. It's not Russia alone, but the 
     whole world.
       The second question is: Wouldn't this endanger the 
     sovereignty of the world's monetary authorities? Above all, 
     wouldn't it affect the monetary policy of the U.S. Federal 
     Reserve System? The answer is? Certainly not. Just compare 
     the size of the existing liquidity in the marketplace and 
     that of probable or possible SDR allocations. It would be 
     like a cup of water poured into the ocean. Unlike cesium and 
     strontium, it won't kill anybody. In addition, an eighty-five 
     majority consent is a sure guarantee.
       The third question is: Can we add one or two other limited 
     cases to the list? The answer is yes, but probably only one 
     as an exception--the dangerous Chernobyl power reactors. It 
     depends how you, the United States, think. This issue has the 
     same roots and is the same global danger to humanity as 
     marine dumping, if not more.
       There are fifteen Chernobyl-type power reactors still 
     operating in the FSU. In addition, there are ten dangerous 
     first generation reactors of another type still operating in 
     the FSU and Eastern Europe.
       Some will argue against this statement. Nevertheless, the 
     problem is so bad that the best we can do is to provide these 
     countries with technical assistance and advice.
       Although it is indeed true to say that the human element is 
     crucially important in the maintenance of safety, I believe 
     that we need to establish a sure way to tackle this issue 
     further for the future.
       A good American friend likened it as living in a cottage 
     under a huge Alpine mountain. Snow falls, accumulating large 
     masses in the higher elevations. People know that an 
     avalanche is inevitable. The only question is when and how. 
     If it comes, we all know what it means to our whole world.
       We would not be defending Russian reactors as such, but 
     rather we are defending the source of energy for the whole 
     world. It is clear for all to see, that once the second 
     Chernobyl-like disaster occurs there will be no chance for 
     the world's nuclear power plants to exist. When that 
     happens there will be no use in blaming the Russians. The 
     fate of the world will be determined at that very moment. 
     Time should not be wasted.
       However, the cost to tackle this will be significant. The 
     World Bank experts estimate the cost as U.S. $21 to $28 
     billion. A German finance minister estimates 15 billion DMs. 
     Japanese experts guess somewhere in the region of U.S. $20 to 
     $50 billion, and probably more. The important point is, it is 
     more than likely that the cost will exceed what the West can 
     afford to bear. So it follows, a special fail-safe device 
     such as SDR allocation is needed to tackle this global issue 
     fully.
       Both of these problems: ocean dumping and nuclear power 
     reactors are problems of settling post-Cold War arrangements 
     and, therefore, need to be handled jointly with the West.
       The fourth and last question is: How can we resist the 
     thousands of other global demands? The answer is: It can be 
     done only by the solid, determined disciplined leadership and 
     self-restraint of the world leaders, and especially of the 
     United States. While taking extraordinary measures with 
     courage, they must be prepared to reject any abuses.
       What I am proposing is not to enter through the wide gate 
     that leads to inflation, nor stand still in front of the gate 
     and wait for the devastation of the seas and the poisoning of 
     the air to happen. Instead, I propose we go through the 
     narrow gate without hesitation, and with determination take 
     the road that leads to the restoration of our mother earth.
       It was Thomas Jefferson who said ``. . . laws and 
     institutions must go hand-in-hand with the progress of the 
     human mind,'' and ``. . . institutions must advance also to 
     keep peace with the times.''
       I sincerely hope that by your good counsel, Mr. Vice 
     President, the 42nd President of the United States of 
     America, will pay due attention to this history-tested advice 
     of the 3rd President, and start moving to act. The Red 
     Octobers are potentially as dangerous as any hazard affecting 
     our global environment and we can capture and recover them 
     now.

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