Nuclear wrecks on the seabed

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Currently, there are only six countries that have nuclear-powered submarines: the UK, US, China, Russia, India, and France. Several other countries including Argentina, Brazil and Australia have ongoing projects in different phases to build nuclear-powered submarines. Nuclear subs work differs from other subs. A nuclear submarine has its electricity supplied by a nuclear reactor. This is in contrast to diesel-electric submarines, which use a diesel engine to charge electric batteries. The ‘nuclear’ term refers to the power alone – nuclear submarines do not necessarily carry nuclear weapons (although they can). A nuclear reactor allows the submarine to be less reliant on external supplies. Diesel-electric subs need to refuel regularly, while a nuclear submarine – particularly one based on UK and US designs – might never need to refuel. Diesel-electric submarines also need to resurface often to turn on their diesel engines to charge their batteries. With nuclear submarines, however, the length of time underwater is only limited by the endurance of the crew and the amount of food that can be carried in it.

Nuclear subs have a long history of involvement in accidents across the globe. There are at least 9 of them have sunk as a consequence of either accident or extensive damage:

United States

uss-scorpion

Scorpion (SSN-589): A Skipjack-class nuclear-powered submarine commissioned by the US Navy in July 1960. On May 21, 1960, USS Scorpion reports its position about 50 miles south of the Azores and no problems are suspected. However, on 27 May 1960 the submarine failed to return to Norfolk. The US Navy conducts a search. Until finally, the submarine was announced as “presumed missing” on June 5, 1960, evidently due to implosion upon reaching its crush depth. What caused the Scorpion to descend to its crush depth is not known. This incident killed 99 crew members.

Thresher (SSN-593): On April 10, 1963, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Thresher went missing and was declared sunk. All 129 crew members and civilians on board died. This is the record for the most deaths due to submarine sinking in history. Minutes before sinking, the Thresher had sent a signal of a minor disturbance to the Skylark. The submarine was located 350 km east of Cape Cod, about 1,300 feet deep at the time of the accident. Pipeline problems resulting in loss of power were identified as the main cause of the accident.

Soviet Union

K-27: Once known as the “golden fish” because of its high cost. The 360ft-long (118m) attack submarine (a submarine designed to hunt other submarines) was irreparably damaged by a reactor accident where 9 were killed on May 24, 1968. On September 6, 1982, the K-27 was sunk after some safety measures were installed that should keep the wreck safe until 2032 to a depth of 108 feet in the Kara Sea. The sinking was carried out contrary to the recommendation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

K-8: Lost on April 11, 1970, in the Bay of Biscay about 490 kilometers northwest of Spain in the North Atlantic Ocean, unable to survive the fierce currents following a fire on board. Initially 52 crew members of the submarine were successfully evacuated, only 8 people did not survive. However, they had to reembark for the towing operation. As a result, all of them died when the water flooded the ship and then sank. The total number of victims reached 60 people.

K-219: A Project 667A Yankee I class sub was damaged by a missile explosion October 3, 1986, then sank suddenly while being towed after all surviving crewmen had transferred off. 6 crew members were killed.

К-278 Komsomolets during inspection by UMV Mir

K-278 Komsomolets: The only Mike-class sub built sank due to a raging fire April 7, 1989. All but 5 crewmen evacuated prior to sinking. 42 perished, many from smoke inhalation and exposure to the cold waters of the Barents Sea.

K-429: It is a Project 670A Charlie I class submarine that has sunk twice but was raised after each incident, once on 23 June 1983 and second on 13 September 1985. Sixteen crew members died in the first incident. The ship was later decommissioned after the second incident.

Russia

K-141 Kursk: A Russian-made Oscar-II class cruise missile submarine. In December 1994 the Kursk became one of 30 ships that took part in the “Summer-X” exercise commissioned by the Russian Navy. On August 12, 2000, the Kursk sank in the Barents Sea. It suffered an explosion while preparing to fire a mock torpedo during practice. A high-test peroxide (HTP) leak from one of the Type 65 torpedoes is believed to have caused the explosion. All 118 men on board were lost. However, all except the extreme bow section was later salvaged.

K-141 Kursk id dry dock after be lifted from seabed

K-159: The hulk of Soviet-era November class attack submarine, left to rust for 14 years after being decommissioned and sank in the Barents Sea on August 28, 2003, when a storm ripped away the pontoons necessary to keep it afloat under tow. Nine out of 10 rescuers on board perished in the accident. This 350ft (107m) submarine, was in service from 1963 to 1989 and sank with 800kg (1,760lb) of spent uranium fuel to the seafloor beneath busy fishing and shipping lanes just north of Murmansk. Thomas Nilsen, editor of The Barents Observer online newspaper, describes the submarines as a “Chernobyl in slow motion on the seabed”.

So far, the contamination in the Arctic is the worst known. A 2019 feasibility study by a consortium including British nuclear safety firm Nuvia found 18,000 radioactive objects in the Arctic Ocean, among them 19 vessels and 14 reactors. While some experts say there is no firm evidence that existing contamination poses significant dangers, but the situation remains critical. The effects of these leaks could range from increasing local background radiation to declaring local fish and animals off limits. Take for instance the two nuclear submarines the K-27 and the K-159, together contain one million curies of radiation, or about a quarter of that released in the first month of the Fukushima disaster. Apart from the economic consequences for the fishing industry, the vast size of the oceans quickly dilutes radiation, even very small levels can become concentrated in animals at the top of the food chain through bioaccumulation (the gradual accumulation of substances, such as pesticides or other chemicals, in an organism) – and then be ingested by humans.

Those disasters are potentially more dangerous than most people surmise. Fortunately, there’s growing global interest in guarding against the lost nuclear dangers that may lie under the seas. The study by the Center for Technology Assessment (CTA) found that ”Global nuclear submarine operations pose a grave danger to global environmental safety, health, and security.” The weapons of the sunken nuclear subs cannot explode. Nuclear reactors are heavily protected. Their compartments have very thick steel walls that are not easily damaged. Also, now reactor is being cooled by pretty much unlimited amount of water. Meanwhile nuclear cores from these torpedoes, which are made from uranium and plutonium, likely oxidized and is now not soluble in water. In other words, these nuclear submarines are not that dangerous even being heavily corroded. But what concerns many officials, environmentalists, and others are the radioactive poisons the sunken bombs and reactors may be leaking and the potential for future accidents that could create new contamination sources. Someday those thick reactor walls are going to corrode through, and we pretty much do not know what is going to happen. Hopefully soon, before it becomes a greater problem, we will already know what to do with these shipwrecks.

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