[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [INTERNATIONAL]

2 clusters · 5 sources · 2 days · First seen · Last updated

Radioactive waste investigation in the Atlantic

Overview

A CNRS-led oceanographic expedition in the Northeast Atlantic has investigated a site containing over 200,000 barrels of historical radioactive waste located approximately 650 kilometers off the coast of Galicia. The waste, discarded between the 1940s and 1980s, rests at depths exceeding 4,700 meters.

Using the vessel Pourquoi Pas? and the submersible Nautile, researchers conducted dives to collect water, sediment, and marine organism samples. Initial findings indicate that many containers are in advanced states of corrosion, with some barrels leaking material into the seabed. Scientists have detected radionuclides, such as cobalt-60, at concentrations higher than naturally expected in the area.

While marine life including sponges, anemones, and crabs have colonized the barrels, the long-term ecological impact remains uncertain. Collected samples are being analyzed via accelerator mass spectrometry in Seville, Spain, to detect low concentrations of uranium and plutonium isotopes and to reconstruct the dispersion processes of these residues.

Entities

Pourquoi Pas? · Nautile · National Accelerator Center · University of Seville · French National Centre for Scientific Research

Timeline

  1. 23 days ago

    [INTERNATIONAL] 2 sources
    Atlantic Ocean contains 200,000 barrels of radioactive waste

    Scientists exploring the Northeast Atlantic at 4,700 meters depth have discovered over 200,000 corroded barrels of radioactive waste, some of which are leaking material into the ocean floor.

  2. 24 days ago

    [TECHNOLOGY] 3 sources
    CNRS expedition investigates deep-sea radioactive waste off Galicia

    A CNRS-led expedition has collected deep-sea samples near a site of 200,000 radioactive waste barrels off Galicia to study isotope dispersion and impact on marine ecosystems.

Sources

caminodesantiago.lavozdegalicia.com · cna.gr · efeverde.com · iefimerida.gr · metropolitano.gal