Investigation of Underwater Radioactive Objects in Stepovoy Bay (Novaya Zemlya)

In 1965, the K-27 submarine with an emergency portside reactor with unloaded spent nuclear fuel (SNF) was scuttled in Stepovoy Bay (Novaya Zemlya). The source of radioactivity is nuclear fuel in the port side reactor and fuel carried into the corresponding steam generator. Before scuttling, the power plant elements were sealed with furfural, and the entire compartment was then filled with bitumen. It is believed that when water enters the reactor core, a self-sustaining fission chain reaction (SCR) will occur. However, this process is possible only if the above-mentioned protective barriers are violated. The state of the protective barriers can be judged by the magnitude and variations of the radioactive background on the deck and near the submarine on the seabed. Thus, the most important task of monitoring and preventing an emergency situation on the K-27 is constant monitoring of the environment (ecology) in Stepovoy Bay in general and near the submerged submarine in particular. The article considers the results of research on the submarine and its environment, including an expedition of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh (cruise 92, 2023), when for the first time the parameters of the radioactive background were measured directly on the submarine’s robust hull near the reactor compartment.