THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 8, 1994 TAG: 9409080518
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A4 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: THE NEW YORK TIMES
LENGTH: Short : 27 lines
Russian divers have completed the first phase of a deep-sea operation to seal holes in a sunken submarine to prevent its corroding nuclear torpedoes from leaking plutonium and other radioactive material into the North Atlantic, the head of the expedition said Wednesday.
Diving more than a mile under the waves in a pair of manned submersibles, the Russian team succeeded in attaching nine large seals to the bow of the submarine, the Komsomolets. The first phase of the expedition began in June and ended in August. The sealing job is to be completed next year.
The Komsomolets sank five years ago about 300 miles off the coast of Norway. The experimental sub, which was one of Moscow's top secrets during the Cold War, went down with a nuclear reactor and two nuclear-tipped torpedoes. Experts have disagreed over whether the hulk poses a health risk.
KEYWORDS: NUCLEAR ACCIDENT NUCLEAR SUBMARINE by CNB