Scientists search for nuclear waste dumped in the ocean
- April 2, 2024
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(RFI).- This image was taken by an environmental NGO. Greenpeace The 1970s now seem like something out of a horror movie: men in hazmat suits dump dozens of
(RFI).- This image was taken by an environmental NGO. Greenpeace The 1970s now seem like something out of a horror movie: men in hazmat suits dump dozens of metal barrels of waste from a ship that will remain radioactive for thousands of years.
Since the emergence of the nuclear industry in the years 1940 until the years 1990European countries and USA dumped legally thousands of tons of radioactive waste in the Atlantic Ocean, with the idea that the ocean floors were lifeless zones. The UK, for example, dumped 140,000 barrels between 1949 and 1982 in 34 operations. Added to this waste are Russian nuclear submarines lost in the Arctic and Japanese nuclear waste in the Pacific.
Photo: Reuters
Half a century later, these wastes have been largely forgotten. But there are some concerns about the exact location of the barrels (there is a rough map based on government data) and the condition of those barrels. Can radioactive material get into water? To what extent will they be toxic to ecosystems? It is to answer these questions that scientists from the CNRS, the French National Center for Scientific Research, have proposed project to map the seabed and assess the condition of the barrels in particular on the French Atlantic coast. An area that will contain 40% of the 250,000 barrels of radioactive waste dumped in the world.
The scientific project is led by an engineer specializing in radioactivity. Patrick Chardonwhich requires that Waste discharged into the sea is of medium and low intensity.. These are gloves and laboratory supplies. His colleague, marine geologist Javier Escartin, who is one of the leaders of this marine research program, recalls that these discharges were carried out legally “under the auspices of the International Atomic Agency.” “All waste of medium and low activity, and we are talking, for example, about laboratory material, we are not talking about nuclear fuel, they were placed in barrels of cement to contain them and during this period they were dumped directly into the sea. Time,” he clarifies. Escartin, who received RFI in their offices at the École Normale Supérieure of Paris.
What is the danger of this nuclear waste in the North Atlantic?
“Radioactivity units can be very abstract to the listener. But they represent approximately 50% of what would have been possible minus the Chernobyl accident, but we must take into account that this was done over several decades. This was not a one-time accident like Chernobyl. And the other aspect is that all this garbage is dumped over a vast area. In other words, we are talking about territories of tens of thousands of kilometers, which means that the waste is dispersed. “These are huge territories, and not concentrated in one point, like Chernobyl,” the geologist answered.
“And another aspect to consider is that the radioactivity of these radionuclides decays over time. So we think that from the time they were released, relative to the radionuclides on the seabed, the amount of radioactivity that exists now is probably less than half, and maybe a third or 25%, of what was originally released.” , estimates Escartin.
If the level of radioactivity is of no greater concern, the condition of the barrels remains a mystery.
Photo: Reuters
The scientist admits that he has no idea about the corrosion of trunks: “In the late 80s, photographs were taken of some trunks, and they were already beginning to be damaged. Some others appeared intact. (…) One aspect of this project is to assess the condition of the barrels and their distribution in these areas,” he explained.
For this mission in 2024 to explore area first From 6000 square kilometers to 600 km away from the French coast at the heights of the city of Nantes. First, the task of mapping the seabed and the location of the barrels will be completed. The second program will then involve sampling water and sediment near drums of radioactive waste to measure its effects on microorganisms, shellfish and fish.
And to solve the problem of descending to a depth of 4000 meters, where the drums are located, Scientists will have an underwater robot Ultra-modern Ulyx, property of the French Maritime Institute IFREMER. A device capable of taking videos, photographs and making 3D reconstructions.
As for nuclear waste, since the end of the 20th century, countries such as France have decided to recycle it or store it in concrete on land. In fact, the French state has a pilot nuclear cemetery project that would bury radioactive fuel waste 300 meters underground.
Source: Aristegui Noticias
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