Sunken Soviet sub no threat, says Norway
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1990.
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A report by Norwegian government and independent scientists said the submarine, which caught fire and sankwith the loss of 42 men, should be left to rust on the seabed. Any effort to raise it could crack the hull and reactor.
"The group's conclusion is that the submarine is not and will not be a significant source of pollution as long as it is left on the seabed)", the Foreign Ministry said. The experimental Mike class submarine sank on 7 April last year in international waters 1,685 metres (5,500 feet) deep in the Norwegian Sea.
The reactor would probably take a century to rust through, the report said. The plutonium and uranium in the reactor and two nucleartipped torpedoes would leak gradually without posing any threat to marine life.
