The London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter

The London Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, known simply as the London Convention, was a product of a groundbreaking United Nations conference held on the human environment in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972. The London Convention, also formed in 1972, governs the deliberate dumping of materials into the ocean from vessels, aircraft, and platforms. The London Convention was created in part from a growing recognition that "the capacity of the sea to assimilate wastes and render them harmless, and its ability to regenerate natural resources, is not unlimited."

The Coastal Barriers Resources Act

The Coastal Barriers Resources Act (CBRA) was the result of the realization by Congress that coastal barrier land masses were a tremendously valuable natural resource and that because of their inherent vulnerability to erosion and storms, they were not well-suited to development. In order to both protect coastal barrier habitats and minimize the wasteful expenditure of federal funds, the CBRA was passed in 1982 to identify undeveloped coastal barrier land masses and restrict federal funding for such areas.

Solid Waste Disposal and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

The stated objectives of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)are to protect the public health and environment, to conserve energy and natural resources by recovering usable parts of waste material, and to reduce the amount of waste, thereby decreasing demand on waste disposal systems.

Federal Classification of Radioactive Waste

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which regulates the use and handling of all radioactive materials in the United States other than that used in the development and manufacture of nuclear weapons, classifies radioactive waste and establishes different requirements and procedures for the storage and disposal of each different type.

The Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act

Pursuant to federal policy that the safe and efficient management of radioactive waste is best done on a regional basis, the Low-Level Radioactive Waste Policy Act (Act) requires each state to take responsibility for providing, either by itself or in cooperation with other states, for the disposal of the low-level radioactive waste that is generated within its borders.