Re: Russian Decommissioned Nuclear Submarines Still Pose Threat To Seas

["Warren Church" <Warren_Church@uml.edu>]

Drag them out to a deep trench and let them go.

Warren_Church@uml.edu

GACarlson@aol.com wrote:

> [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.
> ************************************************************************
> The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
> information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html



************************************************************************
The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html