Radioactive Wasp Nest at Savannah River Site

Workers at the United States — Savannah River Site in United States — North Carolina, a facility that once produced parts for nuclear bombs, discovered a radioactive wasp nest on July 3. The nest, found on a post near liquid nuclear waste tanks, exhibited radiation levels 10 times higher than federal regulations allow. The United States — United States Department of Energy reported that the nest was sprayed, removed, and disposed of as radioactive waste, with no wasps found and no contamination outside the site's boundaries. Officials attribute the radioactivity to 'onsite legacy radioactive contamination' from the site's Cold War-era operations. However, the watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch, led by Tom Clements, criticized the reports for being incomplete, questioning the source of contamination and the possibility of leaks from waste tanks. Savannah River Mission Completion, which oversees the site, reassured the public that the tank farm is well within the site boundaries and wasps typically do not travel far from their nests, minimizing external risk. The site, which opened in the 1950s, now focuses on nuclear fuel production and environmental cleanup, managing millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste in underground tanks.