453 



Neglected Nuclear 

 Time Bomb 



cut in*»»T .ii«/» 



Bt Jeskna Handler 



THE Soviet Unions col- 

 lapse lias provoked in- 

 tense concern about the 

 safety of Soviet nuclear weapons. 

 Aroiher I'hemobyl accident 

 amidst economic chaos and tech- 

 nological breakdown 15 also a 

 worry. 



No attention, however, has 

 been paid to a third nuclear dan- 

 ger: the accident-prone Soviet nu- 

 clear-powered submarine force. 

 To avoid a nuclear calamity at 

 sea, stopping Soviet nuclear sub- 

 marine operations should l)0 a 

 m^ur goal of Western assistance- 

 Soviet nuclear submarines are 

 known to liave a poor safely rec- 

 ord. In 1990. Admiral Bruce De- 

 Mars, head of Uie United Slates 

 Navy's nuclear propulsion pro- 

 gnim. told ConBre^ that the Sovi- 

 ets "have a history of m^uor reac- 

 tor plant casualties over the 

 years. They have had real reactor 

 accidents, things that we have 

 nightmares about.' 



Some Soviet nightmares are 

 well-known Three Soviet nuclear 

 submarines have sunk, one each 

 in 1970, 1986, and 1989 These 

 accidents earned five nuclear re- 

 actors and some 38 nuclear war- 

 heads to the ocean floor But this 

 is only half the story Investiga- 

 tions in the Soviet Union over tlie 

 past year have uncovered new 

 nightmares previously undis- 

 cloaed: 



■ Early Soviet nuclear subma- 

 rines suffered from almost con- 

 tinuous accidents. A retired So- 

 viet submariner said that one of 

 the Tirst four nuclear submarines 

 was nicknamed "Automat." If the 

 submarine left the base, on aver- 

 age it took only one day to come 

 back because of an accident, i.e. 

 It automatically returned. Another 

 WIS dubbed 'Half-Automat' be- 

 cause it spent two days at sea be- 

 fore being forced to return be- 

 cause of malfunctions. 



■ In 1968, the liquid-metal re- 

 actor ctxilant on an early model 

 Northern Fleet submarine froze, 

 causing signiHcant damage to the 

 nuclear reactor A senior naval of- 

 ficer said that many crewmen 

 were severely irmdi.-Ued and 

 many were retired. It ls believed 

 that all or parts of the reactor 

 were dumped off the Arctic is- 

 lands of Novaya Zemlya in the 

 early 1970s. 



■ On Aug. 1 0. 1 98S. dunng re- 

 fuelling, the reactor on a Victor- 

 class submarine exploded and 



Technical lielp 

 should be 

 provided to 

 safely defuel 

 and dispose 

 of these 

 submarines. 



burned in Chazma Bay, some 35 

 miles from Vladivostok in the Pa- 

 cific. Ten men in the reactor room 

 were killed. Soviet news accounts 

 claim that radiation meters in the 

 area went off the scale at fatally 

 high levels of 600 roentgens an 

 hour The Soviet Navy estimates it 

 will take 50 years for the area to 

 return to normal. 



Accidents continue to beset 

 the Soviet submarine force. Last 

 September, a missile misfired 

 aboard a IVphoon ballistic missile 

 submarine in the White Sea 

 during a training exercise. Fortu- 

 nately, the submarine was able to 

 return to base, but the accident 

 could have sunk the submarine. 



along with Its tivo nuclear reac- 

 tors and nuclear. armed missiles. 



With economic decline, fewer 

 resources, material, and Imining. 

 the chances of accidents is likely 

 to uicrease. One Vl.idivostok- 

 bnsed naval officer said, "in prin- 

 ciple and in practice" an acciilcnt 

 like the 1985 catastrophe could 

 occur again- 



Tlie Sovnet .Navy operates 

 some 150 submarines carrying 

 approximately .100 nuclear reac- 

 tors. Soviet submarines still pa- 

 trol the high seas, particularly in 

 the Arctic and North Pacific. /\n 

 accident .iboard any of these sub- 

 marines could release deadly ra- 

 dioarlivity into nch fishing 

 gruiinils and affect nearby na- 

 tions. 



Tliis IS not a far-fetched sce- 

 nario. The smking of the nuclear- 

 powered and armed .Mike subma- 

 rine off Norway in Apnl 1989 has 

 provoked widespread concern 

 about radiation poisoning the 

 seas in the area. 



As the West considers how to 

 assist the ex-Soviet Union, deal- 

 ing with Soviet nuclear subma- 

 rines should be a priority. Tech- 

 nical help should be provided to 

 safely defuel and dispose of these 

 submarines. 



US Navy sources report that 

 the US aLso is facing difTiculties as 

 to how to dispose of its own aging 

 nuclear submarine force Since 

 both Navies face the problem of 

 safely decommissioning nuclear 

 submarines and storing their 

 waste, a natural area of coopera- 

 tion exists. 



If the Soviet Navy balks at pro- 

 posals to reduce or retire its nu- 

 clear-powered submarine fieet. 

 because the West would continue 

 to keep Its own nuclear-powered 

 submarines, serious consider- 

 ation should be given to abandon- 

 ing nuclear-powered submarines 

 altogether 



To some, abandoning nuclear- 

 powered submarines is a radical 

 progosal. But with the end of the 

 cold war. there Is less need for nu- 

 clear submarines. More impor- 

 tant, first-hand observation of the 

 de.idly legacy left by the Soviet 

 submanne fieet suggests such a 

 solution IS necessary to avert a 

 Soviet nuclear disaster of poten- 

 tial global effect. 



■ Jnxkua Hatuiler is resmnh 

 coorriinator for Greenpeace's 

 Niiclear-Free Seas Cainpniq)!. 

 He recentty retnmeii from sir 

 weeks in Rtissta visUirtq sub- 

 marine facilities in prei-vmstif 

 closed areas m Sevemtinnsk 

 and near Vladivostok. 



