Radioactive Wasp Nests Found at Savannah River Site in South Carolina
At South Carolina’s Savannah River Site nuclear facility, workers found four wasp nests with startling radiation readings.
At the Savannah River Site nuclear facility in South Carolina, workers found four wasp nests with startling radiation readings. But officials said there is no concern for safety, according to ABC.
Tests showed the nests put out 10 times more radiation than allowed by law. The first nest turned up on July 3, near tanks full of nuclear waste. Clean-up teams sprayed the nests, then sealed them as radioactive waste.
According to ABC: "By July 31, three additional wasp nests were found during routine work activities, according to the SRS, which said all four nests were found in the F Tank Farm, an area near the middle of the 310-square-mile site."
This site spans 310 square miles. During the Cold War, workers made plutonium for nuclear weapons here. Work stopped in 1992, but 11 tons of plutonium still rest beneath the ground.
“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,” Tom Clements said per NBC News.
The Energy Department claims these nests posed no threat to workers or neighbors. They sat over five miles from the edges of the site. Most wasps stay within 200 yards of home.
"Although infrequent, minor levels of contamination can sometimes be borne by species outside of the administratively controlled immediate radiological work areas. These contamination events are at levels far below what would cause human health issues," the SRS statement said, according to NBC News.
