Humans have been altering the oceans for millennia. Up till now, five critical environmental issues have affected the oceans: over-fishing, chemical pollution and eutrophicaion, habit destruction, invasion of alien species and global climate change. However, one of the major threats the oceans may face in the twenty-first century is radioactive pollution.
From 1946 through 1993, thirteen countries (fourteen, if the USSR and Russia are considered separately) used ocean disposal or ocean dumping as a method to dispose of nuclear/radioactive waste. The waste materials included both liquids and solids housed in various containers, as well as reactor vessels, with and without spent or damaged nuclear fuel.[1] Since 1993, ocean disposal has been banned by international treaties. (London Convention (1972), Basel Convention, MARPOL 73/78)
However, according to the United Nations, some companies have been dumping radioactive waste and other hazardous materials into the coastal waters of Somalia, taking advantage of the fact that the country had no functioning government from the early 1990s onwards. According to one official at the United Nations, this caused health problems for locals in the coastal region and posed a significant danger to Somalia's fishing industry and local marine life.
"Ocean floor disposal" (or sub-seabed disposal)—a more deliberate method of delivering radioactive waste to the ocean floor and depositing it into the seabed—was studied by the UK and Sweden, but never implemented.
1946 First dumping operation at Northeast Pacific Ocean (about 80 km off the coast of California)
1957 First IAEA Advisory Group Meeting on Radioactive Waste Disposal into the Sea
1958 First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS I)
1972 Adoption of the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention 1972)
1975 The London Convention 1972 entered into force (Prohibition of dumping of high level radioactive waste.)
1983 Moratorium on low-level waste dumping
1988 Assessing the Impact of Deep Sea Disposal of Low-level Radioactive Waste on Living Marine Resources. IAEA Technical Reports Series No. 288
1990 Estimation of Radiation Risks at Low Dose. IAEA-TECDOC-557
1993 Russia reported the dumping of high level nuclear waste including spent fuel by former USSR.
1994 Feb-20 Total prohibition of disposal at sea came into force
