The recent finding of more radioactive wasp nests at a former US nuclear bomb plant has sparked worries about potential hazardous material leaks from the site.

Employees at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, discovered an additional three nests with contamination after the initial discovery on July 3, which was emitting radiation levels significantly above federal safety standards.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has acknowledged the situation, confirming that the nests have been treated, sealed in bags as radiological waste, and disposed of properly.

Established in the early 1950s, the SRS was integral in producing plutonium and tritium for the United States’ nuclear weapons program during the Cold War era.

A spokesperson from Savannah River Mission Completion (SRMC), the contractor handling site cleanup, shared with the Daily Mail that the teams collected dead wasps after eliminating the nests.

The insects, according to the spokesperson, showed lower levels of contamination than the nests themselves.

While the DOE insists there has been no leakage from nearby nuclear waste tanks, some scientists are urging caution. 

Dr. Timothy Mousseau, a biologist at the University of South Carolina, conveyed to The New York Times that the presence of these contaminated nests might indicate a broader distribution of radioactive materials across the area than was previously assumed.

‘This is an indicator that there are contaminants spread across this area that have not been completely encased and protected,’ Mousseau said, adding that the latest discoveries ‘indicate that much greater effort must be made to assess the possible risks and hazards of what appears to be a significant source of radioactive pollutants.’ 

SRMC said all four nests were found in F Tank Farm, an area toward the middle of the 310-square mile SRS boundary or more than five miles from the closest site boundary. 

The F-Area Tank Farm where the nest was found holds 22 massive underground tanks, each up to 100 feet wide and 23 feet deep, packed with between 750,000 and 1.3 million gallons of radioactive waste. 

‘Wasp flight patterns keep them within about 200 yards of their nest typically, with a rare exception of a half of a mile from their nests,’ the spokesperson explained.

‘Also, the typical lifespan of these wasps is less than one month.

‘The nests became contaminated by wasps that brought light contamination to the nests because of intrusion into areas with legacy contamination.’

Legacy contamination refers to pollution that persists in the environment from past activities, even after the original sources of contamination have ceased. 

‘The main concern relates to whether or not there are large areas of significant contamination that have escaped surveillance in the past,’ Dr Mousseau told the New York Times, adding that the nests are a ‘red flag’ that should be investigated further.

While SRMC said dead wasps were recently recovered, the group admitted that none were recovered after the first nest was found.

However, the site’s spokesperson stressed that ‘nests do not pose a health risk to SRS workers, surrounding communities, or the environment.

They added that the average person is exposed to about 620 millirem (mrem) of radiation each year from both natural and man-made sources. 

‘All of the nests were emitting less than one percent of the natural background radiation rate. Mrem is a unit of measurement for radiation dose equivalent for humans,’ the spokesperson continued.

However, the watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch slammed the report as ‘incomplete,’ saying it fails to explain the source of the contamination, how wasps were exposed or if more radioactive nests may be hidden.

Tom Clements, executive director of the group, told AP: ‘I’m as mad as a hornet that SRS didn’t explain where the radioactive waste came from or if there is some kind of leak from the waste tanks that the public should be aware of.’