431 



KiMitific ind •ngin«*ring invtstigition of th* situation should occur and| if 

 th« containa«nt of th« duapvd Materials is robust, th«x should b* raised, or 

 if it is not, th«x n**d to bs cntoabtd and aonitorMl. 



How»v«r, because of th« chaos and political Jockoying in Russia, it is 

 foolish to r»lx totally on inforaation provided by tho Russian govornaont. 

 Wostarn gov«rna«nts and particularly intalligonca agencies need to provide all 

 the inforaation they have about these events, so a solution can be devised as 

 quickly as possible. 



B. Future radiation pollution probleas. 



A Mijor worry is what is going to happen in the future. There are 

 several areas of concern i 



1. Decoaaissioned Russian nuclear-powered subaarin*% and associated 

 improperly stored naval nuclear waste leaking radioactive aaterials into the 

 surrounding environaent. 



2> Accidents on nuclear-powered subaarines endangering the Arctic, 

 North Atlantic, or Pacific. 



3. Nuclear weapons tests resuaing at Novaya Zealya. 



4. Construction of new nuclear-power stations in the Russian Far East. 



Pacoaaissioned subaarines i The Russian Navy faces treaandous probleas 

 in disposing of its dacoaaissioned subaarines and their associated nuclear 

 waste. Currently soae 60-60 Russian nuclear-powered subaarines are awaiting 

 disposal. Senior Russian Adairals estiaate ISO nuclear-subaarines should be 

 disposed of by the year 2000. U.S. Rear Adairal Edward Shaefer, Director of 

 Naval Intelligence, told Congress on S February 1992 in his annual testiaony, 

 these subaarines will pose "a growing eovironaental probloa for the Russians, 

 in whose harbors they are lying." 



Regarding the Pacific, senior Pacific Fleet captains have said there are 

 thirty-fiva decoaaissioned nuclear-powered subaarines in the Pacific Fleet. 

 All teldy tiNty nucltar-pewarad subaarines will ba taken out of service by the 

 year 2000. Due to lack of planning, funds, yard space, and the nen-coapletion 

 of a service ship at the Nikolai yards in Ukraine, the Pacific Fleet has a 

 shortage of capability for defuelling and decoaaissioning subaarines. Only 

 eighteen have had their fuel reaoved as of 1992. Only l.S subaarines a year 

 can be processed. Uithout an increase in resources, it will take forty years 

 to defuel and scrap the decoaaissioned subaarines in the Pacific Fleet. 



There are only general plans for final disposal of" these subaarines. 

 According to the Russian naval officers, soaetiae after the year 2000, a land- 

 based storage site soaewhere in the north aay be coapleted. So far neither 

 the site, heavy lift cranes, nor transport barges for the reactor sections 

 have been constructed. Neanwhile, the Pacific Fleet is reaovlng the reactor 



