The accidental sinking of the nuclear submarine, the Kursk: monitoring of radioactivity and the preliminary assessment of the potential impact of radioactive releases

Measurements of samples taken from the close vicinity of the Kursk during two expeditions to the site in August and October 2000, indicate that no leakage of radionuclides from the reactors has been observed. Only background levels in the range 0.0–0.1 μSv/ h have been measured by use of the remote...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Marine pollution bulletin Vol. 44; no. 6; pp. 459 - 468
Main Authors:	Amundsen, I., Iosjpe, M., Reistad, O., Lind, B., Gussgaard, K., Strand, P., Borghuis, S., Sickel, M., Dowdall, M.
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01-06-2002 Elsevier
Subjects:	Accidents Animal, plant and microbial ecology Applied ecology Biological and medical sciences Cesium Radioisotopes - analysis Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution Environmental Monitoring Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology Impact assessment Inventory Kursk Marine and brackish environment Nuclear Reactors Radioactive contamination Radioisotopes - analysis Risk Assessment Ships Source term submarines Water Pollutants, Radioactive - analysis Barents Sea Arctic Ocean PNE, White Sea White Sea Russia PNE, Russia Radioactive contamination Impact assessment Inventory Kursk Source term Radioactive pollution Impact study Submarine Radioactive fall out Biological monitoring Nuclear reactor Marine environment Vertebrata Pisces Pollution source Water pollution Radioactivity
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Measurements of samples taken from the close vicinity of the Kursk during two expeditions to the site in August and October 2000, indicate that no leakage of radionuclides from the reactors has been observed. Only background levels in the range 0.0–0.1 μSv/ h have been measured by use of the remote operating vehicle (ROV) or by the divers working on and inside the submarine. Preliminary model calculations based on two different scenarios, representing short- and long-term releases of 100% of the reactors radionuclide inventory, show that the impact on man and the environment from the Kursk should not be deemed very serious. The conservative estimates indicate a maximum 137Cs activity concentration in fish in the order of about 80–100 Bq/kg and a total collective dose of 97 manSv.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	0025-326X 1879-3363
DOI:	10.1016/S0025-326X(01)00258-2