Status of the sunken nuclear submarine Komsomolets in the Norwegian Sea

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gwynn, Justin P.; Heldal, Hilde Elise; Teien, Hans-Christian; Volynkin, Andrey; Jerome, Simon M.; Lind, Ole Christian
• 署名单位: Institute of Marine Research - Norway; Norwegian University of Life Sciences; Institute of Marine Research - Norway
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-8424; 1091-6490
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2520144123
• 发表日期: 2026-03-31
• 页码: e2520144123
• 关键词: Komsomolets; nuclear accident; marine environment; PLUTONIUM ISOTOPES; U-236; ratios; identification; samples

摘要

The study documents in detail the extent of damage to the exterior of the sunken nuclear submarine Komsomolets and that previous remedial action carried out by Russia was still in place. No evidence was found of any plutonium in the near environment around the damaged forward section of the submarine from the nuclear warheads that were reported to be part of Komsomolets armament in the torpedo compartment. It was confirmed that releases from the reactor were still occurring, but not continuously, with maximum activity concentrations of 90Sr and 137Cs that were 400,000 and 800,000 times higher, respectively, than typical levels of these radionuclides in the Norwegian Sea. Elevated levels of 239Pu, 240Pu, and 236U were also detected in the releases from the reactor, with atom ratios of 240Pu/239Pu and 236U/239Pu that indicate that the nuclear fuel in the reactor is corroding. Despite that releases from the reactor have occurred for over 30 y, there is little evidence of any accumulation of radionuclides in the near environment around the submarine as the released radionuclides appear to be rapidly diluted in the surrounding seawater. Releases from the reactor in Komsomolets can be expected to continue, so further investigations should be carried out to determine the mechanisms behind the observed releases, the corrosion processes that are occurring within the reactor and the implications of these for further releases and the fate of the remaining nuclear material in the reactor.