Re: Russian Decommissioned Nuclear Submarines Still Pose ThreatTo Seas

[Kim Merritt <Merritt9@llnl.gov>]

Interesting that this should be called a "harmless" accident.  20 men died,
yet the concern of a potential radioactive leak is the issue.  We wouldn't
want an unmeasurable increase in the chance of getting cancer!  What a
crazy world we live in!!

>[Full story appears at http://www.russiajournal.com/rj12/10-dec.htm]
>
>Decommissioned Nuclear Submarines Still Pose Threat To Seas
>
>Despite some efforts to curb dumping nuclear waste into the sea, Russia
>still has no real handle on the problem of its leaking and dangerous nuclear
>fleet.
>
>After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian Navy inherited more than
>100 rundown nuclear submarines that had served 20 to 30 years and needed to
>be scrapped. Scrapping a nuclear submarine involves the removal of used
>nuclear fuel and the disengagement of the reactor unit from the hull.
>
>One night in May 1997, a model 670 nuclear submarine scheduled to be scrapped
>sank in its harbor. The Pacific Fleet had already decommissioned the
>submarine, which served in the 1970s, and 20 men of the Kamchatka Fleet who
>were maintaining it at the time drowned. The submarine's nuclear reactor was
>deactivated and all dangerous components removed, but the Defense Ministry
>still declared an emergency situation. Luckily, when navy raised the
>submarine six months later, it found no increase in radioactivity in the
>harbor, according to Pacific Fleet command. Accidents like this are common in
>Kamchatka, and despite the apparent harmlessness of this one, there is no
>guarantee that a similar but disastrous accident will not occur anywhere
>decommissioned Russian nuclear submarines are stationed.
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| | | |    Kim Merritt, RRPT
| | | |__  Physics Safety Support Officer
| | \___/  Lawrence Livermore National Labs
| \___/    merritt9@llnl.gov
\___/      Voice: (925)423-9668   Fax: (925)422-7160
	   "When the only tool you have is a hammer,
	   every problem begins to resemble a nail."
	   -Abraham Maslow
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