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Gteenpeace Vladivostok Report 

 6 November 1991 



It is unclear what other waste facilities exist in the region. The Navy oGBcers confirmed 

 that the Khabarovsk region has waste sites, and one added There is a big area there which is a 

 mess." They said, however, they were not concerned with it Thus it is unclear whether these 

 are wastes sites associated with the Sovetskaya Gavan or other Navy facilities, with other military 

 facilities, or just "general" sites. 



C Decommissioning 



The Navy officers said there are approximately 40 nuclear-powered submarines in the 

 Pacific Fleet which are awaiting decommissioning. They are stored in coves and bays in the area. 

 At least some aife at Bolshoi Kamen and Pavlovsk. Minimum crews are kept aboard them to 

 assure they are kept aQoat, and prevent radiation leakage. 



When asked about the 8 September 1990 Krasnaya Zvezda article discussing the 

 decommissioning of submarines in the Pacific Fleet [translated in JPRS-UMA, 3 October 1990], 

 the officers said this referred to activities at the Bolshoi Kamen facility. 



They said one submarine has already been brokien up there. Its reactor compartments are 

 stored at the plant awaiting a final plan to dispose of them. 



Details about future plans for dealing with decommissioned submarines were bard to come 

 by. Partly this was due to the lack of plans. The Navy officers said the situation was being 

 studied but no final plan had been decided. They said they had heard that President Gorbachev 

 had proposed that 150-250 billion roubles would be needed to decommission the submarines, 

 dispose of their waste, and clean-up the nuclear naval facilities. They did not think this money 

 would be made available. They were very interested in U.S. deconunissioning plans, and meeting 

 their U.S. military counter-parts and experts to discuss the problem. 



Local residents, however, expressed concerns about what was going to be done with the 

 decommissioned submarines. One plant worker at the Chazma Bay facility, told state TV that the 

 military planned to turn their plant into the decommissioning center for Pacific Fleet submarines 

 by 1993. She was concerned that another accident, like the 1985 explosion, might occur again. 



D. Radioactive safety and contamination 



This was a very difficult and confusing topic to pursue. The Navy officers claimed that no 

 civilian workers at the Chazma or Bolshoi Kamen plants have exceeded the 5 rem limit per year. 

 Seemingly this is because the submarine crew is responsible for normalizing the situation after an 

 accident and also works on the overhaul and refuelling of a submarine. Questions about the 

 exposure of military personnel and subsequent medical follow-up went unanswered. 



Questions about contamination or problems at Bolshoi Kamen, Chazma Bay, Installation 



11 



