3 more radioactive wasp nests found at SC nuclear facility. Is there a threat to public?

• Four radioactive wasp nests were discovered at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina.
• The first nest was destroyed, and the wasps were disposed of as radioactive waste.
• The DOE asserts there is minimal risk to the community.

The discovery of a radioactive wasp nest at the Savannah River Site near Aiken, South Carolina, was reported by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on July 22.

The contamination level of the nest was “greater than 10 times the total contamination values” laid out in federal regulations for areas that require contamination monitoring.

Three more radioactive nests have been discovered since July 3, when the first nest was found, according to the New York Times.

“The U.S. Department of Energy is managing the discovery of four wasp nests with very low levels of radioactive contamination,” Edwin Deshong, manager of the DOE’s Savannah River Operations Office, said in an email to the Times. “The nests do not pose a health risks to SRS workers, the community, or the environment.”

However, some experts have expressed concern regarding the wasp nests and the absence of important information in the DOE’s report, “including the absolute level of of radioactivity found in the nest, the specific isotropes that were found, and the type of wasps that built the nest,” Ars Technica reported.

Why are experts concerned about radioactive wasp nests?

Biologist Timothy Mousseau with the University of South Carolina told the Times, “There’s some legacy radioactive contamination sitting around in the mud in the bottom of the lakes,” which lines up with the DOE’s explanation that wasps may have become radioactive upon gathering legacy contamination for their homes. But Mousseau worries that large areas of significant contamination may have escaped past surveillance, resulting in the current wasp fiasco.

“Alternatively, this could indicate that there is some new or old radioactive contamination that is coming to the surface that was unexpected.” he said.

Were the wasps at the at the site killed?

The first radioactive nest was sprayed to kill the wasps. Dead wasps were bagged as radiological waste, per the DOE. The ground and surrounding area did not have any further contamination.

Has a similar incident happened at the Savannah River Site in the past?

A 2017 report from the DOE stated site officials once found radioactive bird droppings on the roof of one of the site’s buildings. Mousseau pointed out the dangers of this since birds can carry radioactive material over long distances.

The DOE asserts there is little to no risk to the community at this time from the wasps that have lower contamination on them and generally don’t stray more than a few hundred yards from their nests, according to statement from the DOE to the Aiken Standard.

What is the Savannah River Site in Aiken?

The Savannah River Site was built in the 1950s and was initially used to produce plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons during the Cold War. Today, the site is focused on nuclear materials management and research and development, including operations at the Savannah River National Laboratory.

Nina Tran covers trending topics for The Greenville News. Reach her via email at ntran@gannett.com