A scientific team investigating plutonium radioisotopes in the sediments of the Arctic Ocean reported no evidence of plutonium leakage near the site where the nuclear submarine “Komsomolets” sank. This was announced by the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
“The activity of plutonium-239+240 and plutonium-238 isotopes in the bottom sediments at the submarine’s crash site aligns with background levels for the Arctic. This indicates that the vessel’s hull is effectively isolating hazardous materials for now,” stated Artyom Paraskiv, a researcher at the Department of Radiation and Chemical Biology at the A.O. Kovalevsky Institute of Biology of the Southern Seas (IBSS RAS).
It is worth recalling that the accident involving the “Komsomolets” occurred on April 7, 1989, in the neutral waters of the Norwegian Sea. Forty-two out of the 69 crew members perished due to a fire. The vessel remains at the bottom of the sea, and there are periodic discussions within military-technical circles regarding the possibility of salvaging it. The submarine carries a nuclear reactor and two torpedoes containing plutonium.
The study, supported by the Russian Science Foundation, covered the Barents and Norwegian Seas. Samples were collected during an expedition aboard the research vessel “Academician Mstislav Keldysh.” Personnel from IBSS, the P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology RAS, and the Marine Hydrophysical Institute RAS participated in the work. Scientists analyzed the concentrations of plutonium radioisotopes in bottom sediments, the content of organic and inorganic carbon, as well as the granulometric composition of the soils.
The highest concentrations of plutonium-239+240 were detected north of Novaya Zemlya—near the former Soviet nuclear test site. Analysis of the isotopic ratios revealed that between 87% and 98% of the plutonium in the sediments originated from global atmospheric nuclear weapons testing in the mid-20th century. A portion of the radioisotopes entered from the North Atlantic due to the dumping of liquid radioactive waste into the Irish Sea during the latter half of the last century.
“The research demonstrated that the mere presence of plutonium in sediments is not a cause for alarm, as its content is quite low. It is far more crucial to understand how it moves and where it accumulates. We established a clear correlation between plutonium concentration and the organic carbon content in the soils. This allows us to forecast which areas will see these radioactive elements ‘sealed in’ the bottom sediments and where they might potentially migrate,” the scientists noted.
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