Radioactive Wasp Nest Found at Cold War Era Nuclear Weapons Facility
What sounds just like the plot of a low-budget horror movie got here to life in Aiken, South Carolina, in early July. Radiological Management Operations workers at the Savannah River Site discovered a radioactive wasp nest hanging on a wood submit close to nuclear waste tanks.
The power, owned by america Division of Power, as soon as produced fundamental parts to create nuclear weapons. All through the Cold War, it produced the plutonium 239 the made up the core of bombs. Since then, the plant has switched focus to gasoline creation and environmental cleanup.
SRS staff have carried out a brand new provider to move spent nuclear gasoline, decreasing the fabric processing time for everlasting disposal in coming years. Learn Extra: pic.twitter.com/fBfrgTabJE
— SRS Information (@SRSNews) July 28, 2025
Radiological workers at the plant repeatedly take a look at radiation ranges to find out if there are any nuclear waste leaks on website. These engaged on the morning of July 3 got here throughout the wasp nest at 100,000 dpm, 10 instances the quantity of radiation allowed by federal regulation.
The wasp nest was sprayed with insect killer and disposed of as nuclear waste, in keeping with a report from the Department of Energy. The report clarifies that no radioactive leaks had been discovered from the nuclear waste bins close by, however that the wasp nest was probably a “legacy contamination.”
Legacy contaminations happen from extended publicity to leftover radioactivity from a as soon as actively contaminated website. No additional causes for contamination got by the Division of Power, and officers declare there isn’t a excellent hazard to anyone within the space. “The bottom and surrounded space didn’t have any contamination,” the report concludes.
In 2021, a similar incident occurred at the Savannah River Web site when radioactive chook droppings had been discovered on the roof of one of many buildings. That incident additionally learn at a stage of 100,000 dpm. It’s referenced as a “related incidence” within the latest report by the company.
