On July 3, 2025, workers at the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, South Carolina, discovered a wasp nest with radiation levels ten times higher than federal regulations permit, sparking concern at the nuclear facility.
Located on a post near tanks storing 34 million gallons of liquid nuclear waste, the nest was found during routine radiation checks by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Radiological Control Operations.
The site, a 310-square-mile complex built in the 1950s to produce plutonium and tritium for nuclear weapons, now focuses on waste management, nuclear fuel production, and research.
The nest, believed to be contaminated by “legacy radioactive contamination” from the site’s Cold War-era operations, was sprayed with insecticide, bagged, and disposed of as radiological waste.
No wasps were found, and officials confirmed no contamination spread to the surrounding ground or environment.
Officials said it is believed that the contamination in the nest is a result of remaining radioactivity from when the site was fully operational and is not related to a loss of contamination control.
The Department of Energy insists there was no leak from the 43 active underground waste tanks, and the nest’s contamination posed no risk to workers, the public, or the environment.
Wasps typically travel only a few hundred yards, ensuring any potential spread remained within the secure facility.
However, the incident has drawn scrutiny from the watchdog group Savannah River Site Watch.
Executive Director Tom Clements criticized the report’s lack of clarity, noting it fails to specify the contamination’s source or the nest’s material, which could reveal whether it was built from contaminated dirt or other substances.
Clements raised concerns about potential undetected leaks from the waste tanks, stating, “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 the public should be aware of.”
The delay in public reporting, attributed to reviewing past wildlife contamination cases, has further fueled skepticism.
The SRS, which once generated over 165 million gallons of liquid nuclear waste, continues to manage its hazardous legacy while producing new plutonium cores for U.S. nuclear weapons.
This unusual discovery underscores the persistent challenges of handling decades-old contamination and the need for transparency to maintain public trust.
As investigations continue, questions linger about what else might be uncovered at this storied nuclear site.