Russia's 'floating Chernobyls'

Neglected nuclear subs ripe for disaster, experts say

October 1, 1995
Web posted at: 1:30 a.m. EDT (0530 GMT)

From Correspondent Siobhan Darrow

MOSCOW (CNN) -- Lurking in Russia's arctic north is a fleet of aging nuclear submarines with a potential for a nuclear disaster. They are being called floating Chernobyls by some, nicknamed after the world's worst nuclear disaster.

Environmental expert Alexei Yablotov said there are more than a hundred decommissioned nuclear submarines. "This problem, in my opinion, (is) one of the most dangerous ecological problems facing Russia," he said. (170K AIFF sound or 170K WAV sound)

But fears of a meltdown came ominously close to reality after the local electric company turned off power to a naval base, due to delinquent bills. Oleg Yerofiev, commander in chief of the Northern Fleet, said cutting power to a reactor makes it uncontrollable, which leads to accidents. "Fortunately, this time, that didn't happen, but it could in the future," Yerofiev said.

The incident at the Murmansk Naval Base last week was not the first time power companies have pulled the plug on the military. In fact, it was the second time that week. Power was also cut at a ballistic missile site in Plesetsk. "They are behaving like unemployed squatters," said military analyst Pavel Felgenhaur. "They don't pay their electricity and gas bills, while using what meager resources they have on buying food and clothing." (111K AIFF sound or 111K WAV sound)

The situation has gotten so serious that Russia's prime minister signed a decree forbidding power companies from cutting electricity to military bases.

But some say that doesn't address the real issue. "This army should be changed to meet the new challenges that Russia faces and the resources that Russia has," Felgenhaur said. "Instead, the Russian authorities are sort of cutting their supplies and letting them rot on their own, like those submarines moored on the Kola Peninsula."

This latest potential nuclear catastrophe was apparently averted only when Russian soldiers forced the power station at gunpoint to turn the electricity back on. Many in Moscow fear that the next time the Russian military and power companies start haggling over unpaid bills, the result could be disaster.

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Russia's 'floating Chernobyls'

Neglected nuclear subs ripe for disaster, experts say

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