[Regnum] Scientists have found more than 1,000 barrels of nuclear waste on the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. This was reported by the ZDF publication, citing the press service of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
In mid-June, an international research team set off from the western French city of Brest on the ship L'Atalante to the western European part of the Atlantic. The scientists hope to find all the barrels within a month and assess the impact of their contents on the local ecosystem.
According to researchers, a number of countries have been dumping nuclear waste into the ocean for 30 years since the 1950s. The ocean depths, far from the coast and human activity, have proven to be a cheap and easy solution for disposing of what has accumulated in industrial developments and laboratories, the authors of the material note.
In the north-eastern Atlantic alone, at depths of 3,000 to 5,000 meters, there are at least 200,000 barrels[?] (30 cubic meters) of waste.
The team of scientists wants to create a map that will mark all the waste locations. They will take water, soil and fauna samples at each point. The researchers will be assisted by the Ulyx diving robot, equipped with a 3D camera and sonar.
It is not yet clear what danger this nuclear waste poses. Patrick Chardon, the head of the project monitoring radioactive waste disposal sites in the ocean, estimates that the radiation will disappear in about 300 to 400 years. The barrels are designed to withstand the pressure of the depths, but not to stop the radioactivity. Therefore, the researcher suspects that radioactive substances could have leaked into the water.
"Our goal is to use the radioactive waste that was produced to better understand the depths of the ocean," said project co-leader and CNRS researcher Javier Escartin.
In the years when the waste was dumped, it was considered safe, 20minutes.fr reported, citing a report by the National Agency for Radioactive Waste Management (Andra). Studies conducted in the 1980s and 1990s found low levels of radiation, and it was decided that there was no need for permanent monitoring of the waste.
"When we did the research in the 1980s, we were taking samples blind, we didn't have an underwater device to search for barrels," Escartin said.
The North-East Atlantic is not the only area affected by radioactive waste dumping, the publication reported. Before the process was completely banned in 1993, 14 countries were involved in dumping waste into the ocean, notably the United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland, as well as the United States and the Soviet Union. This involved more than 80 sites in the Pacific, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans.
Related:
Nuclear waste 06/19/2025 A Bomb for the Ayatollah: Will Iran Really Have Nuclear Weapons?
Nuclear waste 02/21/2025 CNN anchor in the dark on nonbinary ex-Biden official Sam Brinton
Nuclear waste 12/12/2024 Nuclear waste to be dumped into waters just off Cape Cod and could turn ocean radioactive
Nuclear waste 06/19/2025 A Bomb for the Ayatollah: Will Iran Really Have Nuclear Weapons?
Nuclear waste 02/21/2025 CNN anchor in the dark on nonbinary ex-Biden official Sam Brinton
Nuclear waste 12/12/2024 Nuclear waste to be dumped into waters just off Cape Cod and could turn ocean radioactive
Related:
North Atlantic: 2025-06-21 Erdogan says Israel-Iran war near ‘point of no return,’ vows to boost missile production
North Atlantic: 2025-06-21 This Is Why Trump Is Giving Iran Two Weeks to Give Up its Nuclear Ambitions
North Atlantic: 2025-06-20 Su-24 buzzes NATO warship, releasing heat flares during flyby
North Atlantic: 2025-06-21 Erdogan says Israel-Iran war near ‘point of no return,’ vows to boost missile production
North Atlantic: 2025-06-21 This Is Why Trump Is Giving Iran Two Weeks to Give Up its Nuclear Ambitions
North Atlantic: 2025-06-20 Su-24 buzzes NATO warship, releasing heat flares during flyby