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USA: injuries in the smoking room when a nuclear sub crashes

Wellington Medical School, University of Otago, New Zealand; gthomson@wnmeds.ac.nz

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

In January this year a US nuclear powered attack submarine, the USS San Francisco, crashed into an undersea mountain that was not marked on the navigation chart being used. A total of 99 crew members were injured, particularly in the areas that were relatively open: the smoking room, the crew’s mess, and the engine rooms. The one crew member who sustained fatal injuries was smoking in the smoking room at the time.

It is perhaps surprising to think that there is actually space in a submarine for a smoking room. Indeed, it seems somewhat alarming that smoking is permitted given that there must be some (albeit small) increased fire risk. Furthermore, there are concerns around the performance of nicotine dependent workers—given the data that smokers are at increased risk of workplace injuries. One survey has reported that 55% of submariners (from two UK nuclear submarines) felt that it would be . . . [Full text of this article]