'At risk of horrific contamination': The Soviet nuclear submarine wreck that is

[Marlin]

'At risk of horrific contamination': The Soviet nuclear submarine wreck that is a 'ticking time bomb'

https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20260709-the-nuclear-submarine-wreck-that-is-a-time-bomb

[Core Content]

The Soviet submarine Komsomolets, which sank in 1989, continues to release radioactive material from its reactor into the Norwegian Sea. While deep-sea engineering efforts sealed hull fractures and torpedo tubes in 1996, recent investigations by the Norwegian Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority confirm that the vessel is currently experiencing sporadic radioactive leaks.

These findings highlight the long-term environmental challenges associated with managing sunken nuclear assets in deep-water environments. Although current radiation levels remain low, the ongoing corrosion of the reactor and nuclear-armed torpedoes creates uncertainty regarding future contamination risks. Experts emphasize that the extreme depth of the wreckage complicates potential mitigation efforts, leaving the site as a persistent, long-term monitoring concern.

In 1989, the Komsomolets sank off the Norwegian coast. Four years later, the BBC reported on plans to seal in its torpedoes' toxic plutonium.

"Komsomolets is a time bomb ticking away at the bottom of the Norwegian Sea.

"And unless something is done about it, and done about it quickly, we're all in danger." This is how the risk posed by a sunken Soviet nuclear submarine was described by Russian Greenpeace activist Dimitri Litvinov in a 1993 BBC news report.

Resting one mile (1.6km) deep in the sea near the coast of Norway after a fire caused it to sink four years earlier, the Komsomolets had prompted international concern. Two nuclear-tipped torpedoes inside were corroding, risking the release of 9lb (4kg) of plutonium into the Norwegian Sea.

Read the full article at bbc.co.uk:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/culture/article/20260709-the-nuclear-submarine-wreck-that-is-a-time-bomb