Federal officials reported the discovery of a radioactive wasp nest at a nuclear weapons facility in South Carolina with radiation levels that were ten times what is allowed under regulation.
The nest was sprayed with insect killer, removed and disposed of as radiological waste, said a report by The Guardian.
According to the report released on July 22, the nest was discovered by employees who routinely check radiation levels at the Savannah River Site (SRS), near Aiken, on July 3. The wasp nest was found near tanks that are being used to store millions of gallons of liquid nuclear waste.
Investigators say that the radiation was not related to any nuclear waste leak and that there was no impact on the environment or the public.
The US Department of Energy stated in the report that the wasp nest was a result of “on-site legacy radioactive contamination” and “not related to a loss of contamination control.”
