RESULTS OF RADIOECOLOGICAL SURVEY AT THE ACCIDENT SITE OF THE KURSK NUCLEAR SUBMARINE

Yu. A. Izrael, E. D. Stukin, V. N. Soifer, S. V. Konstantinov, V. N. Solov'ev, V. A. Averkov, and A. V. Smetankin

The results of radioecological survey at the accident site of the nuclear submarine Kursk in the Barents Sea about 80 km from the coast are dealt with. Water samples were taken at a distance of 0.2 to 7 km from the submarine on 21 and 22 September 2000. The water was passed through the cesium selective sorbent ANFEZH®. After being dried, the sorbent was measured at the Institute of Global Climate and Ecology with a high-sensitivity semiconductor gamma spectrometer. A radionuclide analysis of the samples has well documented that the amounts of cesium-137 in the sea water corresponds to its background content before the accident with the nuclear submarine Kursk. Other radionuclides (at the site of survey) which could be released from the submarine reactor (i.e., cesium-134, cesium-136, zirconium-95, etc.) were not detected.