nuclear-news

USA called upon to clean up after its nuclear bomb accident in Spain

Spain has nowhere to store the contaminated soil, which will take thousands of years to lose its radioactivity…………The Palomares crash was the worst nuclear accident of its time,

Spain demands US clears earth from site of 1966 nuclear bomb mishap Obama administration is told to remove Palomares soil contaminated with half a tonne of plutonium ‘without delay’ Giles Tremlett * guardian.co.uk,  16 January 2011

Spain is insisting that the United States removes tens of thousands of cubic metres of earth still contaminated by plutonium from unexploded US air force nuclear bombs that accidentally fell in the 1960s.

Spain sent a diplomatic note to the Obama administration shortly before Christmas saying that it was time the earth at Palomares, south-east Spain, containing up to half a tonne of plutonium, was removed “without delay”, according to El País newspaper.

Some 50,000 cubic metres of contaminated soil remains at the site, despite efforts by the US to clear up the mess when four bombs fell near Palomares after a B-52 bomber collided with a refuelling aircraft in 1966.

US authorities initially buried equipment they had used to dig up the land after parts of two of the B28 bombs detonated, spreading plutonium across a wide area.

Spain has nowhere to store the contaminated soil, which will take thousands of years to lose its radioactivity…….

Spanish officials told the newspaper that the US was worried similar demands might be made by other countries where it had carried out nuclear tests.

“Should the US government decide not to help fund a clean-up, we anticipate Spanish government surprise, significant negative publicity, and some negative impact on other areas of our bilateral relationship,” the US embassy in Madrid warned in an April 2009 cable revealed by Wikileaks.

…..The Palomares crash was the worst nuclear accident of its time, provoking worries that it would destroy tourism.

Spain demands US clears earth from site of 1966 nuclear bomb mishap | World news | The Guardian

January 16, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, Spain