Columbia, South Carolina (AP) A radioactive wasp nest was discovered by workers at a South Carolina facility that had produced essential components for American nuclear bombs, but authorities claimed no one is in danger.
The U.S. Department of Energy said that on July 3, workers who regularly monitor radiation levels at the Savannah River Site in Aiken discovered a wasp nest on a post close to tanks used to store liquid nuclear waste.
According to officials, the radiation level in the nest was ten times higher than what is permitted by federal standards.
After applying insecticide to the nest, the staff took it out and disposed of it as radioactive waste. Officials said that no wasps were discovered.
According to the assessment, there is no waste tank breach, and the nest was probably radioactive due to “onsite legacy radioactive contamination,” which is the term used to describe the remaining radioactivity from when the site was fully operating.
The study, according to the watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch, is at best insufficient because it doesn’t explain the source of the contamination, how the wasps would have come into contact with it, or whether there might be another radioactive nest if there is a leak.
Understanding the type of wasp nest could also be crucial because some wasps build their nests out of earth, while others utilize other materials, which could help identify the source of the contamination. The group’s executive director, Tom Clements, texted the message.
“I’m furious that SRS failed to disclose the source of the radioactive waste or whether there is a leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of,” Clements said.
According to a statement from Savannah River Mission Completion, which now manages the site, there is no risk that wasps are outside the facility because the tank farm is well inside the site’s boundaries and they typically fly only a few hundred yards from their nests.
The statement provided to the Aiken Standard states that if wasps had been discovered, their radiation levels would have been much lower than those of their nests.
When the Cold War with the Soviet Union began, the site was established in the early 1950s to produce the plutonium pits required to create the core of nuclear weapons. The facility is now used for cleanup and nuclear reactor fuel production.
According to Savannah River Mission Completion, the site produced around 165 million gallons (625 million liters) of liquid nuclear waste, which has now evaporated to approximately 34 million gallons (129 million liters).
Eight of the subterranean tanks have been shut down, but 43 are still in operation.
