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Radioactive wasp nest discovered by workers at former nuclear bomb site
Radioactive wasp nest discovered by workers at former nuclear bomb site

Fox News

time6 days ago

  • General
  • Fox News

Radioactive wasp nest discovered by workers at former nuclear bomb site

Officials at a former nuclear bomb site in South Carolina have discovered a radioactive wasp nest. Workers were conducting a routine radiation level check at the Savannah River Site near Aiken when a nest was identified with liquid nuclear waste tanks, The Associated Press (AP) reported. The U.S. Department of Energy filed a report on July 22 stating the nest had 10 times the radiation level that is permitted by federal regulations. Officials said no wasps were found at the nest. "The wasp nest was sprayed to kill wasps, then bagged as radiological waste," the report said. "The ground and surround[ing] area did not have any contamination." It is believed the nest became radioactive through "onsite legacy radioactive contamination" from activity left when the site was fully operational. The site now makes fuel for nuclear plants and cleanup, AP reported. There are still 43 of the underground tanks in use, while eight have been closed. A watchdog group, Savannah River Site Watch, called out the report, saying it lacked details about the source of the contamination and how the wasps encountered it, according to AP. Tom Clements, Savannah River Site Watch executive director, slammed the report in text messages obtained by AP. "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 wrote, as AP reported. The Savannah River Mission Completion monitors the site and provided a statement to the Aiken Standard, a local news outlet. "Upon discovery of the contaminated nest, the immediate area was secured and surveyed; no contamination was found in the area," the statement noted. "I'm as mad as a hornet [about this]." "There were no impacts to workers, the environment or the public." The nest was found in F Tank Farm area, which is "centrally located inside the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site. Generally, wasps travel only a few hundred yards from their nest," it continued. In 1950, President Harry Truman announced that the United States would accelerate the atomic energy program; the plant opened during the start of the Cold War. The plant was in charge of producing "basic materials" in support of American defense programs, primarily tritium and plutonium-239, according to the Savannah River Site. It has produced over 165 million gallons of liquid nuclear waste, reducing it through evaporation to about 34 million gallons, according to Savannah River Mission Completion. Of the remaining 43 tanks, eight have closed. Regarding the radioactive wasp nest, three additional nests have since been discovered at the site, The New York Times reported on Saturday. The Savannah River Site occupies some 310 square miles in the sandhills of South Carolina, near the Georgia border.

Radioactive wasp nests found near nuclear storage site in South Carolina
Radioactive wasp nests found near nuclear storage site in South Carolina

Washington Post

time7 days ago

  • Science
  • Washington Post

Radioactive wasp nests found near nuclear storage site in South Carolina

In early July, a wasp nest with a radiation level 10 times what is allowed by federal regulations was found inside the grounds of a sprawling Cold War-era nuclear site in South Carolina that today partly serves as a storage area for radioactive liquid waste. Federal officials said Friday that at least three more contaminated wasp nests were found within the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site, which encompasses an area more than four times the size of the District of Columbia.

Radioactive wasp nest discovered at old US nuclear weapons site
Radioactive wasp nest discovered at old US nuclear weapons site

BBC News

time31-07-2025

  • Science
  • BBC News

Radioactive wasp nest discovered at old US nuclear weapons site

A radioactive wasp nest with radiation levels ten times of what is allowed under regulations was found at a facility that once produced parts for US nuclear weapons, federal officials said."The wasp nest was sprayed to kill wasps, then bagged as radiological waste," says a US Department of Energy report released last week. No wasps were found at the site near Aiken in South say the contamination is not related to a nuclear waste leak, and that there was no impact to "the environment, or the public".Environmental groups have criticised the government's handling of the situation. The nest was discovered by workers who routinely inspect for nuclear radiation at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, on 3 July. It was found on a post nearby to where millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste are stored, but there was no leak from the waste tanks, the report attribute the dangerously-high levels found on the nest to what is called "onsite legacy radioactive contamination" - the residual radioactivity that remains from the time when the site was actively producing parts for nuclear bombs during the Cold War. The site opened in the 1950s, when it was creating plutonium to be used in the core of nuclear bombs. It continues to operate today, but with a focus on nuclear material for power energy department report notes that the wasps that lived within the nest would have significantly lower radiation levels than the nest itself. It also points out that wasps generally fly only a few hundred feet from their nest, and that the nest was found in the middle of the 310-square-mile Savannah River Site - meaning there is little chance they flew outside of the facility."No contamination was found in the area," the report notes. "There were no impacts to workers, the environment or the public,"Savannah River Site Watch, a watchdog group that monitors the site, said that many questions remain unanswered. "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," spokesman Tom Clements told the Associated site once generated more than 165 million gallons (625 million litres) of liquid nuclear waste, according to Savannah River Mission are still 43 of the underground tanks in use, while eight have been closed.

Radioactive wasp nest discovered at nuclear waste storage site in South Carolina
Radioactive wasp nest discovered at nuclear waste storage site in South Carolina

The Guardian

time31-07-2025

  • Science
  • The Guardian

Radioactive wasp nest discovered at nuclear waste storage site in South Carolina

The US Department of Energy has reported the discovery of a radioactive wasp nest at one of its facilities in South Carolina that was once involved in the production of parts for nuclear weapons. According to a 22 July department report, the contaminated nest was discovered at the facility – the Savannah River site – on 3 July near tanks used to store liquid nuclear waste. It said the nest was sprayed and was disposed of as radiological waste, and that testing confirmed radiation levels 'greater than 10 times the total contamination values' that federal regulations allow. The contaminated wasp nest was the result of 'onsite legacy radioactive contamination' and 'not related to a loss of contamination control', the Department of Energy stated in the report. 'The ground and surrounded area did not have any contamination,' it said, concluding that no further action was required. Thee Savannah River Mission Completion, which oversees the site, confirmed to the local Aiken Standard newspaper that its radiological control staff discovered the test 'while performing routine radiological monitoring activities'. It said the nest was sprayed and surveyed for contamination, according to procedure. 'While no wasps were found on the nest, the individual insects would have significantly lower levels of contamination,' it said. 'Upon discovery of the contaminated nest, the immediate area was secured and surveyed; no contamination was found in the area. There were no impacts to workers, the environment or the public.' It noted that the site is near the center of the 310-sq-mile site. 'Generally, wasps travel only a few hundred yards from their nest,' it said. The executive director of the Savannah River Site Watch watchdog group, Tom Clements, told the Associated Press this week that he was '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'. According to the Department of Energy, the Savannah River site was built in the early 1950s and 'focused on the production of plutonium and tritium for use in the manufacture of nuclear weapons from its inception in the early 1950s until the end of the Cold War'. In 1992, the facility began focusing instead on environmental cleanup, nuclear materials management, and research and development. The area where the nest was found – known as the 'F-Area Tank Farm' – contains 22 underground carbon steel tanks, with each tank reportedly capable of holding 750,000 to 1.3m gallons (2.8m to 5m litres) of radioactive waste, according to the Aiken Standard.

Radioactive wasps discovered at nuclear waste storage site in South Carolina
Radioactive wasps discovered at nuclear waste storage site in South Carolina

The Guardian

time31-07-2025

  • Science
  • The Guardian

Radioactive wasps discovered at nuclear waste storage site in South Carolina

The US Department of Energy has reported the discovery of a radioactive wasp nest at one of its facilities in South Carolina that was once involved in the production of parts for nuclear weapons. According to a 22 July department report, the contaminated nest was discovered at the facility – the Savannah River site – on 3 July near tanks used to store liquid nuclear waste. It said the nest was sprayed and was disposed of as radiological waste, and that testing confirmed radiation levels 'greater than 10 times the total contamination values' that federal regulations allow. The contaminated wasp nest was the result of 'onsite legacy radioactive contamination' and 'not related to a loss of contamination control', the Department of Energy stated in the report. 'The ground and surrounded area did not have any contamination,' it said, concluding that no further action was required. Thee Savannah River Mission Completion, which oversees the site, confirmed to the local Aiken Standard newspaper that its radiological control staff discovered the test 'while performing routine radiological monitoring activities'. It said the nest was sprayed and surveyed for contamination, according to procedure. 'While no wasps were found on the nest, the individual insects would have significantly lower levels of contamination,' it said. 'Upon discovery of the contaminated nest, the immediate area was secured and surveyed; no contamination was found in the area. There were no impacts to workers, the environment or the public.' It noted that the site is near the center of the 310-sq-mile site. 'Generally, wasps travel only a few hundred yards from their nest,' it said. The executive director of the Savannah River Site Watch watchdog group, Tom Clements, told the Associated Press this week that he was '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'. According to the Department of Energy, the Savannah River site was built in the early 1950s and 'focused on the production of plutonium and tritium for use in the manufacture of nuclear weapons from its inception in the early 1950s until the end of the Cold War'. In 1992, the facility began focusing instead on environmental cleanup, nuclear materials management, and research and development. The area where the nest was found – known as the 'F-Area Tank Farm' – contains 22 underground carbon steel tanks, with each tank reportedly capable of holding 750,000 to 1.3m gallons (2.8m to 5m litres) of radioactive waste, according to the Aiken Standard.

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