A radioactive wasp nest has been found in South Carolina at a location that was once used to manufacture nuclear bombs.
According to a new report from the U.S. Department of Energy, officials who regularly check the Savannah River Site near Aiken for levels of radiation made the discovery on July 3.
Radiological Control Operations officials came across the nest, sprayed it to kill the insects and then probed the nest to determine if it was radioactive. Sure enough, the report says officials discovered "radioactive contamination greater than 10 times" what is allowed by federal regulations.
Luckily, the report states, "The wasp nest is considered onsite legacy radioactive contamination not related to a loss of contamination control."
As for why the Department of Energy waited to release the results, they claim it was "to allow time for reviewing previous wildlife contamination for consistency in reporting criteria."
It goes on to declare the ground surrounding the area where the nest was located was not impacted by high levels of radiation, and no further action was required.
However, that's not good enough for Tom Clements, the Executive Director of watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch. Clements told CBS News, "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."
Back in the 1950s, the site was used to manufacture the plutonium pits which were needed to make the core of nuclear bombs. According to Savannah River Mission Completion, the site generated more than 165 million gallons of liquid nuclear waste which has, overtime, been reduced to 34 million gallons.
The site is reportedly now currently used to make fuel for nuclear plants and clean up.
