nuclear-news

Radiation leak on Russian nuclear powered ice-breaker ship

“Even a small radiation leak inside the reactor structure is a serious event,” said independent military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.

“If the leak is small, they might be able to repair it. But it is hard to do because the reactor is hot,” Felgenhauer noted.

Nuclear leak on Russian icebreaker in Arctic sparks rescue mission THE AUSTRALIAN,  May 06, 2011 RUSSIA have launched an urgent rescue mission after one of its atomic-powered icebreakers developed a nuclear leak in the frozen seas of the Arctic and was forced to abandon its mission.

The Rosatomflot nuclear fleet said in a statement that an “insignificant increase in activity” had been detected on board its 21,000-tonne Taimyr icebreaker.

But the incident was serious enough to force the vessel to abandon its mission and begin a five-day journey back to its home port in the north-western city of Murmansk.

The agency also announced plans to shut down the reactor before the ship enters into port – a reversal of an initial statement saying that decision would be reached only if the situation got out of hand….

The Taimyr has a single 171-megawatt reactor that generates about one-third the energy of the Fukushima 1 reactor affected by the Japanese earthquake and tsunami disaster in March.

Rosatomflot said the increased levels of radiation were first detected in the air ventilation system surrounding the icebreaker’s power unit and a subsequent check showed no further damage.

It attributed the higher readings to “a leak in the primary coolant system”.

But most other details – including how many people were on board the ship – remained sketchy.

The agency initially said the ship’s reactor would be shut down “if the situation deteriorates”……

“Even a small radiation leak inside the reactor structure is a serious event,” said independent military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer.

“If the leak is small, they might be able to repair it. But it is hard to do because the reactor is hot,” Felgenhauer noted….

Nuclear leak on Russian icebreaker in Arctic sparks rescue mission | The Australian

May 8, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Russia, safety