WIRE:04/13/2000 12:14:00 ET Navy reports radioactive leak on nuclear sub at Pearl Harbor PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii (AP) _ Radioactive water leaked from a pipe within a nuclear-powered submarine's propulsion plant but no radioactivity was released, the Navy said. The radioactive water was contained in one of the submarine's bilges, Navy spokesman Jon Yoshishige said.

The 360-foot, fast-attack submarine USS Olympia was undergoing maintenance when the leak occurred early Wednesday.

The leak was detected when water was being returned to the propulsion plant system following maintenance on a valve in the sub's reactor compartment, the Navy said. Some 500 gallons of water were released and drained into the reactor bilge, where wastewater from that part of the ship is collected.

The reactor was not operating at the time and had been shut down for more than two weeks.

Six shipyard workers were in the reactor compartment at the time, said Lt. Cmdr. Dave Werner, spokesman for the Commander Submarine Forces Pacific.

Three workers received small amounts of radioactive material on their skin, but it easily washed off, he said, and the amount of exposure was less than a person receives from natural radiation sources in a single day.

State officials also examined the area and found no unusual radiation levels or threat to the public.

Werner said water in the reactor bilge will be pumped from the ship to be processed to remove the radioactivity. The compartment will then be cleaned and the valve will be repaired.

The cause of the problem with the valve has not been determined, Werner said.

Access to the Navy base was barred for several hours after the accident.

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20000413_916.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 13, 2000

Answers

Workers aboard the USS Olympia simply wash off slightly radioactive water By Gregg K. Kakesako Star-Bulletin

Three Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard workers were exposed to minute traces of radiation when water leaked from a pipe in the propulsion plant of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Olympia yesterday.

But the Navy said there was never any danger to the environment from the radioactive water or to the workers.

The radioactive water is now stored in one of the submarine's bilges, Navy spokesman Jon Yoshishige said.

This was at least the fifth accident at the shipyard involving nuclear submarines, but none has involved nuclear systems on the subs. In 1998 the Navy reported that:

An ensign on the USS Los Angeles had to stop the closing of a torpedo loading hatch because proper safety procedures were not followed. A Navy diver was injured while removing the propeller on the USS Columbus. The equipment the diver used to loosen a propeller nut broke loose, striking the diver. The diver was treated for a scalp cut. The removal of a protective cover for a sea water system valve on the USS Key West was not properly done, causing some flooding. There was an electrical maintenance problem on the USS Chicago.

Yesterday, the Los Angeles-class submarine USS Olympia -- one of 21 at Pearl Harbor -- was undergoing routine maintenance at a shipyard facility next to the submarine base when the leak occurred at 5:37 a.m. The leak was detected when water was being returned to the propulsion plant system following maintenance on a valve in the sub's reactor compartment, Yoshishige said.

About 500 gallons of water were released and drained into the reactor bilge, where waste water from that part of the ship is collected.

The reactor was not operating at the time and had been shut down for more than two weeks.

Six shipyard workers were in the reactor compartment when the leak occurred. Three workers received small amounts of radioactive material on their skin but washed it off with soap and water, Yoshishige said.

Another worker also suffered a minor cut on the head. He had backed into an object as he was moving away from the leaking pipe. The worker was treated at Tripler Army Medical Center and released. His name was not released.

http://starbulletin.com/2000/04/13/news/story6.html

-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), April 14, 2000.