The research vessel “Akademik Ioffe” successfully completed the first stage of a major program to clean up the Arctic from sunken structures containing spent nuclear fuel. During the voyage, previously undiscovered objects of the integrated storage facility for solid radioactive waste “TRO-8,” including the barge “Likhter-4” with two nuclear reactor hulls, were found and thoroughly examined in the Chayniy Bay, off the eastern **edge** of Novaya Zemlya. The expedition, initiated by the Kurchatov Institute Research Center and the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences with the **participation** of the Russian Geographical Society’s Center for Underwater Research and the emergency response services of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, **solved** a long-standing mystery. Previous attempts to precisely locate the “TRO-8” objects in 2007, 2023, and 2024 using the research vessel “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” were unsuccessful due to difficult conditions. A systematic search using a towed unmanned vehicle, “Videomodul,” along a 99 km route proved successful. First, “scatterings” of 146 containers with solid radioactive waste were discovered, followed by the “Likhter-4” barge itself. Analysis of the obtained sonar images and video data of the ship’s deck, hatches, hull, and superstructure, correlated with existing information, allows one to **state** with full confidence that the found sunken vessel is the “Likhter-4” barge, **reports** the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. An important part of the work was the radiation survey of the barge using remotely operated underwater vehicles GNOM “Kh,” GNOM “Vector,” and “Argus,” equipped with gamma spectrometers developed by the Kurchatov Institute Research Center. Despite the strong near-bottom current, measurements were taken that showed the integrity of the protective barriers and the reliable isolation of the reactors from the environment. To assess the potential **impact** on the ecosystem, detailed hydrophysical surveys were conducted, and samples of bottom sediments, water, animals, and plants were collected. Express analysis revealed no traces of technogenic radioactive contamination at the disposal site. After the successful first stage, the “Akademik Ioffe” expedition **proceeded** to Stepovoy Bay to continue operations. There, the expedition will investigate the environmental conditions in the area where the nuclear submarine “K-27” and other objects were scuttled.
About the Author
