A wasp nest with radiation levels ten times higher than the norm has been found at a South Carolina factory that once produced parts for US nuclear weapons, the BBC reports.
The US Department of Energy said in a statement that the nest had been sprayed to kill the wasps and then packed away as radioactive waste. No individual wasps have been found at the site. Environmental groups have criticised the government’s handling of the situation.
The nest was discovered on the by workers carrying out a routine inspection to assess radiation levels. The wasp nest was found at a site near a site where millions of litres of radioactive waste are stored, but the report said no radioactive material had been released. Investigators say the dangerously high levels of radiation in the nest are linked to so-called residual contamination, or radioactivity that remains in the area after the plant’s operations have ended.
The plant was opened in the 1950s to produce plutonium for atomic bombs. The
plant is still in operation, but now it produces raw materials for nuclear power plants.
The Department of Energy has noted that the radiation levels of the wasps in the hive were significantly lower than in the hive material itself. The department also noted that the wasps usually do not fly more than a few hundred meters from the hive, and since the hive is located in the middle of the territory, there is a very low probability that the radioactive wasps could have flown out of the territory. There was no radiation contamination in the area, and there was no impact on workers, the environment or the public.
Meanwhile, supervisors at the Savannah plant indicate that there are many unanswered questions, such as where the radiation came from and whether the public should be especially careful.
Since the start of operations, the plant has generated more than 625 million liters of radioactive waste, and 43 underground tanks are still in use.
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