On July 3, workers found a radioactive wasp nest at the Savannah River Site. This massive complex, larger than the state of Rhode Island and located in South Carolina, is dedicated to nuclear waste storage and environmental cleanup. The nest eventually took up residence in the middle of the boomtown site, specifically at the FArea Tank Farm. This site is home to 22 old, leaking underground carbon steel tanks intended for the storage of millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste.
Each of the tanks have a capacity ranging from 750,000 to 1.3 million gallons of radioactive sludge. That’s about 2.8 to 5 million liters! However, the discovery of the invasive wasp nest brings with it alarming safety risks. The results were over ten times the federal allowable contamination standards for radiation.
Tom Clements, head of the watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch. He told the Associated Press that he regretted the actions taken that day. He emphasized the need to respond to these types of findings quickly, since disturbing radioactive materials can pose health and safety risks. The contaminated nest was then specially treated and disposed of as radiological waste to eliminate any additional dangers.
Since 1992, the Savannah River Site’s primary mission has been environmental cleanup and managing nuclear materials. This focus has been heavily criticized. This event is part of a worrisome trend, revealing a troubling find inside a facility responsible for safely storing nuclear waste. Wasps typically don’t fly far away from their nests, usually no more than a couple hundred yards at most. This poses fascinating questions as to how they are able to flourish in such a hyper-regulated space for public safety.
Finaled in a July 22 report, the U.S. Department of Energy exposed the highly polluted nesting site. It called attention to the ongoing threat and need for continued monitoring at nuclear waste locales, including Savannah River. These results highlight evidence-based gaps in current monitoring practices and procedures. They call for the implementation of stringent environmental standards to stop such tragedies from happening again.