Posted on 11/09/2008 4:31:13 AM PST by Virginia Ridgerunner
The fire safety system on a new Russian nuclear-powered submarine malfunctioned on a test run in the Sea of Japan, spewing chemicals that killed at least 20 people and injured 21 others, officials said Sunday.
It was Russia's worst naval accident since torpedo explosions sank another nuclear-powered submarine, the Kursk, in the Barents Sea in 2000, killing all 118 seamen aboard.
The victims died of poisoning from Freon gas that was released Saturday when the fire-extinguishing system accidentally turned on, said Sergei Markin, an official with Russia's top investigative agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Of course one has compassion for families of the submariners who died.
However, I love these Russian “weapons”. They’re more a threat to their users than to their perceived enemies. Seem to malfunction on a regular basis. I hope they sell a lot of them to the third world.
Leased? Does that come complete with arsenal?
Because of the closed atmosphere on subs you have emergency breathing masks that plug into a set of air banks. Donning masks should be automatically done by everyone within seconds.
It is about the first thing that a submariner learns how to do.
Don't forget US astronaut.
I’m guessing that it was Halon, not Freon. When Freon is heated to a high temperature (the cherry end of a cigarette is hot enough to do it), it breaks down into phosgene, which is a nerve gas. Not a good feature for a fire-suppression system.
I hate it for them as well... but I’m also taking into consideration that their sabre rattling as of late is directed straight at the good ol’ US of A.
Guaranteed that any failures of the military of other countries is seen as a learning opportunity for our military for possible future use. It’s also an extreme possibility that the cause of the “poisoning” was not as advertised. We’ll never know.
As a former sailor I pray for their souls...
Wait until the Venezuelans start running Russian equipment.
Incompetency in the Russkie Navy!!!
“Same thing.
Freon 13B1 is also known as Halon 1301 and is used in fire suppression systems.”
Correct. It’s also not a “poison”. It just displaced the air in the enclosed space and basically smothered the poor devils.
"Andrei, you've lost another sub?"
Forbes had an interesting article a month ago... Russia is a 3rd world country with 1st world aspirations...
“Burning Freon produces a nerve gas that was used to kill troops in World War I. EPA spokeswoman Tina Kreisher said Monday that the supply below the twin towers appears to be in no danger of igniting.”
Wrong. It produces Phosgene gas which is an irritant not a nerve gas. It doesn’t “burn” either.
http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/phosgene/basics/facts.asp
With idiots like this in EPA no wonder we are screwed.
I thought it was Phosgene, at least that’s what the Navy puts out in training. Although we were also told that Phosgene was deadly, so I don’t know.
Freon gas (R-12 for instance) released into a standard pressure and temperature situation is heavy; it weighs much more, around five times more than the air it displaces. So it drops like a rock into spaces where it can’t drop any further, and pushes air out — causing suffocation.
Shipyard workers know that they need ventilation protection whenever freon might be released into a vessel’s hull.
Given that, it amazes me how “scientists” get away with telling people that Freon is responsible for damage to Earth’s upper altitude ozone layer.
I just found this on the internet.
“Phosgene is worse. It also causes severe lung damage, but it’s harder to detect. There’s certainly a distinct phosgene odor (sort of an acrid rotting-vegetation smell, supposedly not so bad a low concentrations.) But that means the gas can be present at dangerous levels (especially over time) without being particularly noticeable or offensive. And if you don’t know what the smell is (and what it means) you can be badly injured without realizing the danger. The majority of chemical fatalities in World War I came from phosgene.”
In a fire within a closed area the available oxygen will be consumed rapidly, a release of Halon gas will displace the remaining oxygen in a wave toward the floor while starving the flames.
A good engineer will allow for that factor and not overload the discharge beyond that which will support life (~19%) on accidental triggering.
One would die not from the poisionous amount of refrigerant gas but from asphyxiation, failing that.
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