The Bellona ecology group late Sunday urged Russia to halt the practice of towing decommissioned nuclear submarines after such a submarine sank in the Barents Sea, killing all but one of the 10 crew members.The decommissioned K-159 sub sank at 4:00 am (0000 GMT) Saturday three miles (five kilometres) off Kildin island in the Barents sea, northwest Russia, after a pontoon with which it was being towed to port broke away in a storm.
Bellona would monitor the area for signs of radiation and bid to assess the possible damage to the local environment, the Norway-based foundation's president Frederic Hauge said as quoted by the Interfax news agency.
Naval officials in the region earlier said the level of radioactivity in the waters near the submarine, lying on the seabed at a depth of 170 metres (550 feet), "are normal."
Hauge also advised that any spent nuclear fuel be removed from scrapped submarines at the northern Gremikha navy base, as the aged reactors cannot be immune from leaks.
The Gremikha base is still home to seven decommissioned submarines, each carrying some 800 kilograms of spent nuclear fuel, Hauge added.
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