• Session 1 - Water Resources:

  - Isotope hydrology: developments and challenges.
  - Practical applications of isotope hydrology.
  - Potential use of nuclear power for desalination of sea water.

• Session 2 - Sea Transport of Radioactive and Nuclear Materials:

  - Safety of radioactive material transport by sea.
  - Physical protection of sea transports of nuclear materials.

• Session 3 - Monitoring Radioactivity in the Aquatic Environment

  - Review of the state of the oceans for radioactivity.
  - Identifying sources of radioactive discharges.
  - Environmental sampling in water for verification purposes.
  - Discharges to the aquatic environment: scientific basis for limitation.

• Session 4 - Nuclear Techniques in Studies of the Aquatic Environment

  - Monitoring non-radioactive pollutants in the marine environment.
  - The ocean carbon cycle.
  - Technological challenges in the retrieval of spent fuel from storage in sea vessels.

• Session 5 - Impact Assessment

  - Knowledge gained from studies at Mururoa and Bikini Atolls.
  - Impact of different power plant operations on the marine environment.
  - Effects of nuclear power plant cooling water release on the environment - a case study.
  - Assessing the impact of disposal at sea.

Each topic will be presented by specialists in the field, and these presentations will be followed by panel discussions and, in some cases, by video films. The audience will be invited to put questions and make comments. Conclusions will be drawn from the discussion during each session, with possible presentation of a report on the Scientific Forum to the plenary session of the General Conference.

Visit to the Isotope Hydrology Laboratory

On the afternoon of Thursday, 24 September 1998, there will be an opportunity to visit the Isotope Hydrology Laboratory located in the Vienna International Centre. The visit will be conducted in two separate groups:

The Laboratory provides analytical services to institutions carrying out isotope hydrology and geochemical investigations in Member States. It produces, calibrates and distributes reference materials for selected environmental isotopes (stable or radioactive). The Laboratory also implements a quality assurance programme in the field of isotope hydrology.