nuclear-news

Radioactive wasps discovered at South Carolina nuclear facility

By Julian Agnew and Christopher J. Teuton. Jul. 29, 2025 , https://www.wtoc.com/2025/07/28/radioactive-wasps-discovered-south-carolina-nuclear-facility/

AIKEN, SC (WTOC) – A radioactive wasp nest was discovered earlier this month in South Carolina by workers at a nuclear facility, according to a report from the US Department of Energy.

The report states that on July 3, 2025, workers found a wasp nest on a stanchion near a tank at the F-Area tank farm at the Savannah River Site.

When the nest was probed it was discovered to be highly radioactive, according to the DOE’s report. While it does sound like something out of a comic book or horror movie, the report says this is not related to a loss of contamination control at the nuclear facility.

Instead, the wasp nest is considered a victim of “legacy radioactive contamination.”

The nest was sprayed (in order to kill the wasps) and was then bagged as radiological waste.

The report states the ground and surrounding area did not have any contamination.

The Savannah River Site was built in the 1950s near Aiken, South Carolina and covers more than 300 square miles.

During the Cold War, the Savannah River Site produced nuclear material and nuclear weapons components.

It became an EPA Superfund site in 1989, with cleanup and environmental remediation going on ever since.

In recent years, the National Nuclear Security Administration has begun work on a facility there to produce new plutonium cores for American nuclear weapons.

The NNSA plans to build at least 50 new plutonium cores per year in the new facility.

July 31, 2025 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | environment, USA