Radioactive Nest Found at the Site of the Former Nuclear Plant

• A radioactive nest has been discovered at the site of the former nuclear plant.
• Specialists noted that there is no danger to the population.
• It was found that the nest could have been contaminated with residual radiation.

In the Southern Carolina, on the territory of the Savannah River Site, where important components for nuclear bombs were previously produced, a radioactive nest was discovered. Employees, who regularly check radiation levels, found it on July 3 near the reserve where low-level radioactive waste is stored. According to the data from the U.S. Department of Energy, the radiation level in the nest was 10 times higher than the permissible norms.

Workers processed the nest with an insecticide, removed it, and utilized it as radioactive waste. However, the nest was not found. Along with the report, the leak from the reserves did not occur, and the nest likely remained radioactive due to residual contamination that remained from the time when the site was fully operational.

The Savannah River Site Watch group noted that the report is incomplete, as it does not disclose the source of the contamination and the possibility of the presence of other radioactive nests. The executive director of the group, Tom Clements, emphasized that it is important to know what was done with the nest, as this could help identify the source of the contamination.

On the territory of the plant, which was opened in the early 1950s for the production of plutonium cores, now there is a concentrated area for the production of nuclear electronics and cleaned territories. A total of over 165 million gallons of radioactive waste have been produced on the site, of which approximately 34 million gallons remain after evaporation. At the moment, 43 underground reserves are being utilized, all of which are already closed.

Tags: USA/Energy