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Fire aboard nuclear
By Gregg K. Kakesako
sub injures two
crew members
Star-BulletinFor the second time in a week, maintenance work has been stopped on a Pearl Harbor nuclear submarine because of an industrial accident.
Two sailors are at Tripler Army Medical Center today after suffering burns caused by an 11:15 a.m. electrical fire aboard the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Pasadena yesterday.
The two crew members were not identified. Dave Werner, Pacific Fleet submarine force spokesman, said the sailors suffered second- and third-degree burns.
The Pasadena, which was in the dry dock at the Pearl Harbor Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance, was undergoing routine maintenance, Werner said.
The sailors, both enlisted crew members on the 360-foot submarine, were working in the engineering section on the aft end of the submarine when the fire occurred.
On April 12 at least three civilian shipyard workers at Pearl Harbor were exposed to minute traces of radioactive material on the USS Olympia.
Radioactive water leaked as it was being returned to the propulsion plant system following valve maintenance. The ship's nuclear reactor was not operating at the time.
The three shipyard workers washed off the radioactive material with soap and water.
Another shipyard worker received a minor cut on his head when he backed into a part of the sub.
The Navy said there was never any radiation danger to the public or the environment in the Olympia incident.
Navy's USS Pasadena page
