Re: RADSAFE digest 2753

[Thomas M Lashley <lashleyt@dteenergy.com>]

"Lavera, Ron" wrote:

>
>
>                 The one success story in this business, the Nuclear Navy,
> got that way by convincing the
>                 public that they take every photon and every mrem seriously,
> and that they have zero
>                 tolerance for error.
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> The RADSAFE Frequently Asked Questions list, archives and subscription
> information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html

Is that why the U.S.S. Thresher (SSN-593) is sitting on the bottom of the
ocean.........

Date of Loss: 10 April, 1963

Returned to Service: No

Sank off New England coast while on sea trials following an overhaul. The exact
cause is unknown. A Navy board of
inquiry determined that the "most likely cause" was a failure in either a pipe,
a pipe valve, or a hull weld, causing flooding
somewhere near the engine room.

The flooding probably short-circuited an electrical system related to the main
engine, causing the reactor to "scram" or shut
down. Without power, the Thresher was unable to surface, and the continued
flooding caused Thresher to drop below her
crush depth where the pressure of the ocean destroyed her.

129 men lost, no survivors.
(9 officers, 85 crew, 18 Navy technicians, and 17 civilian contract technicians)

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information can be accessed at http://www.ehs.uiuc.edu/~rad/radsafe.html