Ship-Submarine Recycling Program

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In the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program , the United States Navy dismantles its decommissioned nuclear- powered ships . The work is being carried out in the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard . This mainly concerns the disposal of nuclear submarines and some nuclear cruisers , the first decommissioned nuclear powered carrier was the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) .

history

When the first decommissioning of nuclear-powered ships approached in the late 1970s, the Navy investigated whether the hulls could be sunk without nuclear fuel but with the reactor department, or whether the reactor should be cut out and stored on land. Both methods were found to be safe, with the Navy choosing the latter in 1984. At the beginning of the 1990s, the first dismantling began as part of the Ship-Submarine Recycling Program. By 2008, over 100 nuclear submarines and seven nuclear cruisers had been scrapped in the program.

The first submarine to be scrapped was the USS Robert E. Lee (SSBN-601) , the first cruiser the USS Truxtun (CGN-35) and the first aircraft carrier is expected to be the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) .

In 1998, the cost of deactivating and dismantling submarines was around $ 40 million; in 1997, the Navy assumed costs of up to $ 950 million for a Nimitz- class aircraft carrier .

procedure

First, the spent nuclear fuel is removed from the reactor, taken to the Naval Reactors Facility of the Idaho National Laboratory and stored there. In addition, secret equipment is removed. This process is carried out in several shipyards; if it does not take place in Puget Sound, the hull of the ship is then towed there.

The ships are dismantled in the dry dock . In the case of submarines, the hull, including the pressure hull, is cut open in several places and as much material as possible is removed from the interior of the boat. Then the reactor compartment, and the missile compartment in the case of missile submarines , is cut out and sealed. It weighs approximately 1680 tons and is 13 meters long and is stored at the Hanford site . The rest of the boat is dismantled and sold as scrap. In the case of the cruisers, the superstructures are removed first, and the procedure for the hull is similar to that for submarines.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Kopte 1997, pages 42f
  2. ↑ Cost-Effectivness of Conventionally and Nuclear-Powered Carriers , Study by the Government Accountability Office, page 95 (PDF; 1.9 MB)