- MOSCOW -- Russia's defence
ministry sought to quash fears of radioactive contamination yesterday after
a nuclear submarine sank in Arctic waters with 10 crew members on board.
President Vladimir Putin ordered a "thorough investigation" into
the incident, which happened as the 40-year-old vessel was being towed
to a scrapyard near Murmansk.
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- At least nine sailors died and one is missing after the
Soviet-era K-159 went down in the Barents Sea during a fierce storm which
ripped away the pontoons supporting the submarine early yesterday morning.
One officer was pulled from the water at the scene three miles northwest
of Kildin Island, at the mouth of Kola Bay.
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- There were fears that spent nuclear fuel could wash out
of the submarine's decommissioned reactors, contaminating the immediate
vicinity. Mr Putin, who was meeting the Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi
in Sardinia, promised an exhaustive investigation that would establish
"all reasons for the tragedy". He said the incident "testifies
to how the sea demands discipline, it does not forgive any kind of blunder
or mistake".
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- The sinking brought painful memories of three years ago
when an explosion on the Kursk nuclear submarine sent it to the bottom
of the Barents Sea, killing all 118 sailors on board.
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- In contrast to the Kursk tragedy, when the military was
criticised for its sluggish reaction, an investigation was swiftly launched.
Helicopters, aircraft and ships circled the area looking for survivors,
although it was thought no one could have lived for longer than 45 minutes
in water temperatures of about 10 deg C (50 deg F).
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- The bodies of two servicemen were recovered shortly after
the accident, which happened at 4am local time. In a televised exchange,
Russia's naval chief-of-staff Viktor Kravchenko assured the defence minister,
Sergei Ivanov, that both reactors had been shut down on the K-159 submarine
in 1989 and "put into a nuclear safe condition". Radiation levels
at the scene of the accident were "normal", he said. He later
confirmed that the boat would be raised from the seabed.
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- An independent nuclear watchdog warned that there was
a danger of contamination from radioactive material spilling out of the
sealed reactors. "Sea water could get inside and wash out spent nuclear
fuel," said Igor Kudrik, a researcher at the Oslo-based Bellona Foundation,
which has offices throughout Russia and monitors the decommissioning of
Russia's nuclear-powered submarines.
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- "This will not have a global impact on the Arctic
but it could be damaging to sea life in the immediate vicinity," he
said. Norway's Fisheries Directorate said yesterday that the region where
the submarine sank was an important breeding ground for cod and smelt,
though the area was off-limits to Norwegian fishermen. The directorate
said it was awaiting information from Norwegian radiation authorities to
determine if the sinking had caused any environmental damage.
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- Mr Kudrik criticised the decision to tow the K-159 on
pontoons from the site of its decommissioning at Gremikha on the Kola Peninsula
to the scrapyard at Polyarny near Murmansk, where it was due to have its
spent fuel removed before being dismantled.
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- "The Russian navy is to blame for this because it
took the cheapest option," he said. "A ship capable of removing
the fuel could have been brought to Gremikha so the submarine did not have
to be moved."
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- Russia has decommissioned about 189 nuclear-powered submarines
over the past 15 years but defence officials say 126 remain in docks with
nuclear fuel in their reactors. The rusting hulks have created international
concern about leaks and the possibility of nuclear materials being transferred
to other nations or to terrorists.
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- Russia estimates it will cost £2.4 billion to scrap
all the subs. Yet last year, the Russian government budgeted just £44
million for improving nuclear safety in the country as a whole. Norway,
France and Britain have pledged help to dispose of the decaying submarines.
The Department of Trade and Industry is spending £12 million on constructing
storage tanks for spent nuclear fuel at Murmansk.
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- The K-159 which sank yesterday was designed to carry
low-yield nuclear torpedoes but all its armaments had been removed.
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- © Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2003.
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