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Trip to Check Radiation after 1989 Sinking of Russian Sub

Associated Press

   COPENHAGEN, DENMARK - Norwegian authorities say a joint
   Norwegian-Russian expedition will assess whether a Russian submarine
   that sank 30 years ago is leaking radioactive material.

   The Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority say a Norwegian research
   vessel will set off Saturday from Tromsoe, northern Norway, to the
   Arctic Barents Sea where the Komsomolets submarine sank in 1989.
   Forty-two of its 69 crewmen died in a fire, and the submarine's nuclear
   reactor and two nuclear warheads are still on board.

   The agency said Friday that a remote-controlled submersible would be
   used and the work ``would be demanding'' as ``lies deep'' at about
   1,700 meters (5,610 feet)
   Norway has found elevated concentrations of the radioactive substance
   cesium-137 around the wreck but said the levels were barely detectable
   and presented no danger.

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