Russian Nuclear Submarines: U.S. Participation in the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation Program Needs Better Justification

• Other Authors: GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON DC
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2004
• Subjects: Government and Political Science; Submarine Engineering; Nuclear Warfare; Radiation Pollution and Control; *DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE; *RUSSIA; *ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION; *RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION; *COOPERATION; *ARCTIC REGIONS; *NUCLEAR POWERED SUBMARINES; NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION; UNITED STATES; DECONTAMINATION; AREA SECURITY; RADIOACTIVE WASTES; REACTOR FUELS; STORAGE; HANDLING; PACIFIC OCEAN; NORWAY; SUBMARINE BASES; FUEL CONTAMINATION; UNITED KINGDOM; *DISMANTLEMENT; *AMEC(ARCTIC MILITARY ENVIRONMENTAL COOPERATION); GAO REPORTS; GAO(GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE); THREAT REDUCTION; NUCLEAR NONPROLIFERATION; NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION THREATS; Arctic; Norway; Pacific
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA435974; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA435974

Norway, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States participate in the Arctic Military Environmental Cooperation (AMEC) program, a multilateral effort that seeks to reduce the environmental impacts of Russia's military activities through technology development projects. AMEC has primarily focused on Russia's aging fleet of nuclear submarines. Section 324 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 required GAO to review AMEC, including its relationship to the Department of Defense's (DoD) Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) program. In accordance with the act, GAO did the following: (1) assessed the extent to which AMEC supports and complements the CTR program, (2) identified AMEC member countries' financial contributions to the program, (3) assessed AMEC's future program objectives, and (4) evaluated DoD's proposal to expand its technology development activities to Russia's Pacific region. GAO recommended, among other things, that DoD determine whether AMEC activities should include improving security around Russian nuclear submarine bases, and whether DoD's technology development efforts should be expanded to nuclear submarine dismantlement in Russia's Pacific region. DoD concurred with all of GAO's recommendations. In May 2004, AMEC developed a draft strategic plan to guide its future efforts. The plan, which is currently being reviewed by AMEC partners, proposes improving the security of Russia's nuclear submarine bases and securing spent nuclear fuel from dismantled submarines. DoD wants to expand its dismantlement technology development efforts to Russia's Pacific region, but has not adequately analyzed the condition of Russia's decommissioned nuclear submarines in the Pacific and their impact on the environment. Furthermore, DoD has not identified specific projects that would be needed beyond those already done in the Arctic region. Report to Congressional Committees. The original document contains color images.