[CPEO-MEF] RADIATION: Broken arrow waste at Savannah River Site (SC) landfill

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Nuclear accidents buried beneath 76 acres
Final resting place

By Rob Pavey
Augusta Chronicle (GA)
September 5, 2008

They were among the worst nuclear accidents in history -- and also the 
most sensitive.

On Jan. 17, 1966, the unthinkable occurred 30,000 feet above the Spanish 
coastline when an Air Force bomber -- carrying four hydrogen bombs -- 
broke apart and exploded during a routine, midair refueling.

As the B-52 disintegrated, its fully armed weapons hurtled toward earth. 
One fell into the sea and another bounced into a field, where it was 
recovered intact.

The remaining two bombs exploded, although safety devices prevented the 
primary nuclear fuses from full detonation.

Nonetheless, the "dirty bomb" scattering of plutonium and other 
radioactive materials created a trail of contamination centered near the 
Spanish village of Palomares.

The resulting cleanup and recovery, according to records from the 
Washington-based Center for Defense Information, involved thousands of 
workers who packed up an estimated 1,400 to 1,750 tons of soil, 
vegetation and debris that was quietly flown to the United States and 
buried at Savannah River Site.

...

For the entire article, see
http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/090508/met_472071.shtml

--


Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org



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