The salvage operation allegedly poses the risks that the reactor may restart during the salvage, and that a leakage of radiation may occur that would poison the surface water, plankton, and fish. The commission also estimated that it would take as least 100 years before the hull corroded enough to pose a radiation risk. The commission criticized Smit Internationale for agreeing to co-sponsor the operation, despite the potential for environmental damage. It was reported in September 1991 that a Soviet team dived six times to a depth of 1,700 meters in deep-sea craft. They took radiation readings as well as samples from the seabed and water.
Soviet officials admit that the sub accident did bring specific problems to the surface.
O.D. Baklanov, the Soviet official heading the Komsomolets inquiry, stated that specialists discovered that certain faults in the prototype sub's electrical and hydraulic systems contributed to the fire and thus require modification. The Komsomolets disaster made apparent a host of problems involving the former Soviet nuclear-powered fleet, some which will pose danger for years to come. Nuclear reactors began powering naval vessels in 1954, with the commissioning of the USS Nautilus . Soviet estimates show the number of nuclear-powered vessels may be larger. According to an article in Energiya , the former Soviet Union had approximately 380 reactors on board its ships.