In mid-June, the research vessel Ivan Petrov departed from the port of Arkhangelsk. Over the course of two weeks, scientists will monitor radiation levels in the Arctic—experts from the Research and Production Association 'Typhoon' and the Northern Department for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring will collect water samples from various depths and analyse bottom sediments in the White and Barents Seas.

The issue of radiation levels in the waters of the 'European' part of the Russian Arctic is by no means trivial—as the Arctic develops and the local economy grows dynamically, the number of ships, ports and industries is increasing, not to mention tourists. From June to September last year, the Russian Arctic National Park welcomed 301 guests, not including volunteers, scientists and workers. Meanwhile, on the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, which is located within the protected area, 132 nuclear explosions were conducted from 1954 to 1990, including the testing of the famous Tsar Bomba, whose blast wave circled the globe three times. As of 2012, there were still 17,000 containers of nuclear waste, 19 ships with radioactive waste and 14 nuclear reactors resting in local waters. Given these figures, it seems that in the Russian Arctic National Park, the gentle green glow from polar bears can only be rivalled by the beauty of their tentacles, and the seasonal mutations of the staff are included in the annual calendar of events.

So yes, the first thing that comes to mind when discussing radiation levels in the Arctic is nuclear weapons testing. The classified resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers on the creation of Object-700 on the territory of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago came into force on 31 July 1954, marking the beginning of a whole era. Most nuclear explosions in the Arctic were conducted underground, so there were only two recorded cases of radioactive gas and vapour reaching the surface through cracks. Today, the islands also host a closed military testing range, which the government maintains in working order 'to ensure the reliability, combat readiness and safe storage of nuclear warheads.' According to 2014 data, the level of radiation contamination does not exceed 10–12 µR/h, which is comparable to the background levels in large cities.

The main source of radiation contamination in the waters of the Arctic Ocean was not nuclear bombs but rather radioactive waste and sunken ships. Today, Rosatom continues to implement a large-scale programme for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and the consequences of man-made disasters. For example, in 2024, the remnants of nuclear fuel from the old nuclear submarine base in the Gremikha settlement were sent for reprocessing. In total, from 2002 to 2023, the volume of waste was halved, and the conservation of the most problematic facility, the Lepse floating maintenance base, was completed. The ship, built in 1934, carried more than 600 irradiated fuel assemblies. The ship was rusting, falling apart, and could have 'delighted' the residents of the Murmansk Region with intense radiation exposure in the event of a breach in its structural integrity. Today, the 'floating Chernobyl' has been fully dismantled, and the region has new infrastructure for handling nuclear waste.

According to Rosatom representatives, in 2020, 95% of the 18,000 sunken radioactive objects had naturally reached a neutral state. Of the remaining 5%, specialists are most concerned about six submarine reactors (K-11, K-19, K-140), the reactor of the Lenin icebreaker and two intact submarines (K-159 and K-27). The latter is located in the Kara Gate Strait. In 2023, it was surveyed by EMERCOM experts who concluded that the site does not currently pose an immediate threat. This is encouraging because, at the moment, Rosatom's specialists are only developing the technology for raising submarines from the seabed—an activity previously considered impossible in the Arctic but now one of the key environmental challenges of our time.

In conclusion, there is no need to fear radiation exposure in the Russian Arctic protected area or on the coast of the European part of the Arctic Ocean in 2024—the radiation levels do not exceed the norm. In 2020, Rosatom promised that it would be able to dispose of all potentially hazardous facilities within eight years.

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