Head’s up! A nest of radioactive wasps was recently discovered in one of the high-level waste tank areas at SRS!
Does this indicate a new type of killer wasp is on the loose?
What kind of radioactive waste were they exposed to and where did it come from?
Are more radioactive wasps headed to Aiken or beyond?
“Subject or Title of Occurrence: Legacy Contamination, Wasp Nest in Controlled Area”
“On July 3, 2025, Radiological Control Operation (RCO) discovered a wasp nest on a stanchion near 241-127F (adjacent to Tank 17) in a Controlled Area. The wasp nest was sprayed to kill the wasps. RCO probed the nest and discovered it was probing 100,000 disintegrations per minute/100 square centimeters beta/gamma. This contamination level is greater than 10 times the total contamination values in 10 Code of Federal Regulation 835 Appendix D. The wasp nest is considered an onsite legacy radioactive contamination not related to a loss of contamination control. The delay in reporting was to allow time for reviewing previous wildlife contamination for consistency in reporting criteria. No further action was required in the field. There is no impact from event on other activities and operations”
full “Occurrence Report,” of July 22, 2025: https://orpspublic.doe.gov/orps/reports/displayReport2.asp?crypt=%87%C3%95%9Ba%8Evjtc%90