GAO Report Raises Possibility of More Plutonium-Contaminated Waste from 1996 Nuclear Bomber Accident in Palomares, Spain to US/SRS

Plutonium waste from Palomares, Spain to US? GAO report, Jan. 31, 2024 – “Nuclear Waste: Changing Conditions May Affect Future Management of Contamination Deposited Abroad During U.S. Cold War Activities” – confirms plutonium-contaminated waste from US nuclear bomber accident in Spain 1966 – four nuclear weapons hit the ground and sea – went to a now-closed low-level burial ground at SRS (we drove past it on a Jan. 19, 2024 pubic tour of SRS). Spain is anxious for more “clean-up” of the site, which could mean more nuclear waste to SRS. Isn’t the US obligated to take this stuff if Spain wants that?

GAO report webpage: https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-104082

Nuclear Waste: Changing Conditions May Affect Future Management of Contamination Deposited Abroad During U.S. Cold War Activities

What GAO Found

“U.S. Cold War activities resulted in radioactive contamination in three locations: Greenland (part of the Kingdom of Denmark), Spain, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) (see fig.). In Greenland, radioactive liquid—generated by a small nuclear reactor that powered the U.S. Camp Century base—remains entombed under ice. In Spain, a mid-air collision resulted in radioactive contamination around Palomares. The United States and Spain cleaned up much of the radioactive material and have monitored the remaining material since. In RMI, contamination from nuclear weapons tests and the resulting fallout remains measurable on several atolls, some of which are still uninhabitable.”

Full GAO report: https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24104082.pdf

For more information on the Palomares accident & waste dumping at the Savannah River Plant, see pages 29+, with photos:

“Following the midair collision of two U.S. aircraft, the United States and Spain cleaned up radioactive contamination dispersed in and around Palomares, but some contamination remains to this day. Specifically, in 1966, a KC-135 tanker aircraft and a B-52 bomber carrying four Mk28 thermonuclear bombs collided in a refueling operation, and 250 tons of debris and four nuclear bombs fell from the sky. While none of the nuclear warheads detonated, two of the bombs suffered enough damage during the accident and subsequent ground impact that the conventional explosives cased within the bombs ignited, resulting in chemical detonations.33 The explosions dispersed approximately 20 pounds (9 kilograms) of oxidized isotopes of plutonium, uranium, and americium across 0.9 square miles (2.3 square kilometers) of Palomares. No local residents or animals were harmed because of the accident. Figure 13 illustrates the aircraft collision and the resulting release of four nuclear bombs on or near Palomares.”

>>> SRS Watch has a languishing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on this matter with the US State Department but the State Department says there will be no response until September 2025!

What GAO Found

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