Our Work:

paper 12

Nuclear Submarine Decommissioning and Related Problems

by Susanne Kopte

For many years Susanne Kopte was head of the Disarmament Campaign at Greenpeace.
She is presently working as a freelance journalist.

An earlier version of this paper was prepared as background paper for the Conversion Survey 1997

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CONTENTS

I. INTRODUCTION

II. THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM

III. THE WORLD’S NUCLEAR SUBMARINE FORCES

1. Nuclear submarines in Russia/Soviet Union
2. Nuclear submarines in the United States
3. Nuclear submarines in the United Kingdom, France, and China
   • United Kingdom
   • France
   • China
4. Other nuclear submarine forces

IV. GENERAL OVERVIEW OF DISMANTLEMENT AND
DISPOSAL TECHNOLOGIES FOR NUCLEAR SUBMARINES

1. The decommissioning process
   • The defueling process
2. Options for reactor compartment disposal
   • Sea disposal
   • Shallow land burial
   • Deep land burial

V. STATUS AND PROBLEMS IN THE DECOMMISSIONING PROCESS
OF NUCLEAR SUBMARINES IN RUSSIA

1. The Pacific Fleet
   • The spent-fuel problem
   • Disposition of liquid and solid radioactive waste
2. The Northern Fleet
   • Shipyard capacities for the decommissioning task in the Northern Fleet
   • Problems of spent-fuel management in the Northern Fleet
   • Disposition of liquid and solid radioactive waste
3. Foreign aid

VI. THE US NAVY SCRAPPING AND RECYCLING PROGRAM
FOR NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES

VII. THE FRENCH STRATEGY FOR DISPOSAL OF
NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES AND SPENT FUEL

VIII. THE UNITED KINGDOM’S PLANS FOR DISPOSAL OF
NUCLEAR-POWERED SUBMARINES

IX. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

X. ACRONYMS

XI. REFERENCES

ANNEX: CHRONOLOGY OF MAJOR ACCIDENTS ON NUCLEAR SUBMARINES WORLDWIDE

TABLES

• Table 1: Nuclear Submarines Built and Decommissioning Worldwide
• Table 2: Soviet Dumpings, 1965-1988
• Table 3: Estimated Costs of Inactivating and Scrapping Nuclear-Powered Submarines
• Table 4: Hazardous Vessel Components

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