Radioactive wasps' nest found at nuclear site – but officials insist it poses ‘no danger'
The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said.
The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. No wasps were found, officials said, insisting that there is no danger to anyone.
The report said there is no leak from the waste tanks, and the nest was likely radioactive through what it called 'onsite legacy radioactive contamination' from the residual radioactivity left from when the site was fully operational.
The watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch said the report was at best incomplete since it doesn't detail where the contamination came from, how the wasps might have encountered it and the possibility there could be another radioactive nest if there is a leak somewhere.
Knowing the type of wasp nest could also be critical — some wasps make nest out of earth and others use different material which could pinpoint where the contamination came from, Tom Clements, executive director of the group, wrote in a text message.
'I'm as mad as a hornet that SRS didn't explain where the radioactive waste came from or if there is some kind of leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of,' Clements said.
The tank farm is well inside the boundaries of the site and wasps generally fly just a few hundred yards from their nests, so there is no danger they are outside the facility, according to a statement from Savannah River Mission Completion which now oversees the site.
If there had been wasps found, they would have significantly lower levels of radiation than their nests, according to the statement which was given to the Aiken Standard.
The site was opened in the early 1950s to manufacture the plutonium pits needed to make the core of nuclear bombs during the start of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Now the site has shifted toward making fuel for nuclear plants and clean up.
The site generated more than 625 million litres of liquid nuclear waste which has, through evaporation, been reduced to about 129 million litres, according to Savannah River Mission Completion.
There are still 43 of the underground tanks in use while eight have been closed.
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Irish Independent
21 hours ago
- Irish Independent
Radioactive wasps' nest found at nuclear site – but officials insist it poses ‘no danger'
Employees who routinely check radiation levels at the Savannah River Site near Aiken found a wasp nest on July 3 on a post near tanks where liquid nuclear waste is stored, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy. The nest had a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations, officials said. The workers sprayed the nest with insect killer, removed it and disposed of it as radioactive waste. No wasps were found, officials said, insisting that there is no danger to anyone. The report said there is no leak from the waste tanks, and the nest was likely radioactive through what it called 'onsite legacy radioactive contamination' from the residual radioactivity left from when the site was fully operational. The watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch said the report was at best incomplete since it doesn't detail where the contamination came from, how the wasps might have encountered it and the possibility there could be another radioactive nest if there is a leak somewhere. Knowing the type of wasp nest could also be critical — some wasps make nest out of earth and others use different material which could pinpoint where the contamination came from, Tom Clements, executive director of the group, wrote in a text message. 'I'm as mad as a hornet that SRS didn't explain where the radioactive waste came from or if there is some kind of leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of,' Clements said. The tank farm is well inside the boundaries of the site and wasps generally fly just a few hundred yards from their nests, so there is no danger they are outside the facility, according to a statement from Savannah River Mission Completion which now oversees the site. If there had been wasps found, they would have significantly lower levels of radiation than their nests, according to the statement which was given to the Aiken Standard. The site was opened in the early 1950s to manufacture the plutonium pits needed to make the core of nuclear bombs during the start of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. Now the site has shifted toward making fuel for nuclear plants and clean up. The site generated more than 625 million litres of liquid nuclear waste which has, through evaporation, been reduced to about 129 million litres, according to Savannah River Mission Completion. There are still 43 of the underground tanks in use while eight have been closed.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- The Irish Sun
Hive of radioactive WASPS found at nuclear site by officials
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The Irish Sun
27-05-2025
- The Irish Sun
Sun hiding ‘invisible asteroid threat' as scientists warn Earth risks ‘collision' with ‘highly chaotic' Venus space rock
A FIELD of at least 20 asteroids has been found lurking near Venus, having previously been hidden by the Sun's glare, experts have revealed. The belt of asteroids is currently co-orbiting Venus, swinging around Earth's closest planetary neighbour with differing proximities to our planet. 3 A 3D rendered image of Venus, Earth's closest planetary neighbour Credit: Getty Scientists from Brazil have warned that there could be more asteroids hiding near Venus, and that they may even pose a risk to Earth. "Twenty co-orbital asteroids of Venus are currently known," the authors wrote in their "Co-orbital status protects these asteroids from close approaches to Venus, but it does not protect them from encountering Earth." Asteroids are considered potentially hazardous asteroids (PHA) if they have a diameter of at least 140 metres and come within 0.05 astronomical units of Earth's orbit, according to experts. READ MORE ON SPACE "We aim to assess the possible threat that the yet undetected population of Venus co-orbiters may pose to Earth, and to investigate their detectability from Earth and space observatories," the authors wrote. 3 An artist's impression of the Sun's glare from Earth Credit: Getty - Contributor Only one of the 20 known asteroids has an orbital eccentricity below 0.38 - with 0 being a perfectly circular orbit and 1 meaning an elliptical or oval-shaped orbit. This means some asteroids with wider orbits will be easier to spot, but those with minor orbital eccentricities may be difficult to detect. However, Venus asteroids with an orbital eccentricity higher than 0.38 could "pose a collisional hazard to Earth," the researchers warned. Most read in Science Co-orbital asteroids - ones that share an orbit with their nearby planet - are also known for having unpredictable orbits. This makes it harder to figure out how dangerous they are. Cold War era Soviet spaceship that was meant to reach Venus to FINALLY crash back to Earth at 17,000mph "The co-orbital asteroids of Venus are highly chaotic, with Lyapunov times of the order of 150 years," the authors explained. The Lyapunov time refers to how long an object's orbit takes to become unpredictable because of chaotic dynamics. So scientists have no idea how the orbit of an asteroid will evolve over the next 150 years, and if it could collide with Earth in the future. It's unclear how big the Venus asteroids are. But even a relatively small asteroid of 150 meters in diameter could strike Earth with a force equal to hundreds of megatons of TNT, For context, that is thousands of times more potent than the atomic bombs dropped in World War 2. The researchers said that more research is required to determine just how many asteroids are hiding near Venus. But since they are only observable periodically due to the Sun's glare, research from Earth's perspective might be difficult - even with powerful telescopes. The researchers suggest, therefore, that the best way to learn more about these hidden asteroids is to get a closer look. "Observations conducted from Venus' orbit, positioned facing away from the Sun, may enhance the detection of these bodies," the researchers explained. All you need to know about planets in our solar system Our solar system is made up of nine planets with Earth the third closest to the Sun. But each planet has its own quirks, so find out more about them all... How old is How many moons does What colour is How far away is How big is How many moons does Does How many moons does How big is How hot is the 3 A field of at least 20 asteroids, that has previously gone undetected due to the Sun's glare, has been found near Venus Credit: Getty
