Sunken Nuclear Submarine Continues to Leak Radioactive Material, but Experts Aren’t Worried

YOU NEED TO KNOW

• A Cold War submarine that sank in 1989 is still leaking radioactive material into waters off Norway

• soviet Komsomolets It was carrying nuclear fuel and crashed amid a fire, killing dozens

• Years later, studies continue to show that radioactivity around the ship was higher than normal.

A sunken Cold War-era nuclear submarine continues to leak radioactive material into the Norwegian Sea, a new investigation has found; however, researchers believe there is “little evidence” that it accumulates in water.

soviet Komsomolets It went below the waves in a fire in April 1989; 42 people died.

In the decades since, both Russian and foreign authorities have continued to monitor the ship for its nuclear fuel tank.

And while the ship still leaking radiationresearch published earlier this month inside Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences It gave no significant cause for alarm.

“It was confirmed that releases from the reactor were ongoing but not sustained,” the study authors wrote.

They added: “Despite emissions from the reactor… there is little evidence of any accumulation of radionuclides in the immediate environment around the submarine as the released radionuclides appear to be rapidly diluted in the surrounding seawater.”

“No evidence of any plutonium was found in the immediate area around the submarine’s forward section, which was damaged by nuclear warheads,” the study authors wrote.

This mirrors what experts have previously determined: While the radiation is noticeable, it quickly dilutes in the water not far from the submarine.

The new study’s co-author, marine radioecologist Justin Gwynn of the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Agency, said most of the submarine was still intact underwater.

“Aside from the very obvious damage to the forward section and particularly to the torpedo compartment, the submarine appears to have sunk on the same day (as we look at it) rather than 30 years ago,” Gwynn said. he told Gizmodo via email. “It stands upright on the sea floor.”

Gwynn told Gizmodo that during the Cold War, the Soviets believed it would be too costly and too risky to completely remove the submarine from the water and destroy it.

“Any possible release into the atmosphere during any rescue operation could result in pollution being deposited on land, which would likely have a much larger and longer-term impact,” he said.

The new study also revealed that “nuclear fuel in the reactor was corroded.”

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The study’s authors recommend further monitoring and investigation as leaks continue.

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