Concerns persist regarding the potential leakage of radioactive material from the Komsomolets, a former Soviet nuclear submarine that sank off the coast of Norway 37 years ago, the BBC reported on July 13 (local time).

The Komsomolets sank in the Norwegian Sea in April 1989 following a fire on board.

Of the 69 crew members, 42 died in the incident, and the submarine was equipped with two nuclear torpedoes and a nuclear reactor.

Since the accident, the international community has raised concerns about the possibility of plutonium from the nuclear warheads leaking into the ocean.

In response, Russia conducted deep-sea operations in the mid-1990s to seal cracks in the hull and the torpedo tubes.

However, according to a report released by Norwegian authorities in March, it has been confirmed that radioactive material is leaking intermittently as the submarine's reactor corrodes.

Nevertheless, Norwegian authorities maintain that the current level of leakage does not pose a significant impact on the surrounding marine ecosystem.

Experts, however, believe that long-term risks remain.

Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), pointed out that the scale of radioactive leakage could change as the hull continues to corrode.

He particularly emphasized that the possibility of radioactive material entering the food chain through seabed organisms and fish, depending on changes in ocean currents, cannot be ruled out.

"The very fact that they sealed the submarine 30 years ago means that the authorities also acknowledged the danger," Kristensen said.

Consequently, some are calling for additional exploration to assess the current state of the Komsomolets, along with further reinforcement work.

However, it is known that further reinforcement is technically very difficult, as the sunken hull of the Komsomolets lies at a depth of approximately 1,700 meters.