AIKEN COUNTY, S.C. (WACH) — A wasp nest contaminated with radioactive material was found inside a restricted area at a former nuclear weapons site in South Carolina.
The U.S. Department of Energy says the nest was discovered on July 3 at the Savannah River Site in Aiken County, a massive facility built in the 1950s to help produce materials for Cold War nuclear weapons.
The nest was attached to a metal support beam near one of the site’s old waste tanks.
After spraying it to get rid of the wasps, radiation workers ran a routine check and discovered the nest was giving off radiation levels more than 10 times the federal safety limit.
Luckily, the contamination didn’t spread. The nest was safely removed and bagged as radioactive waste, and the surrounding area tested clean.
Officials say the radiation came from old, leftover material – not from any current leak or safety issue.
Since the 1990s, the site has focused on environmental cleanup and nuclear research.