Climate Change May Unearth Cold War-Era Nuclear Waste Stored by the U.S. in Other Countries
[ https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-ne ... 180983901/ ]
A new report finds that melting ice and rising sea levels could disturb radioactive contamination left over from American nuclear tests after World War II
Tara Wu, Reporter - March 6, 2024
Rising global temperatures could unearth Cold War-era nuclear waste created by the United States and stored in other countries, posing potential issues for the environment and local inhabitants, according to a new report.
An assessment [ https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-104082 ] conducted by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released earlier this year examined nuclear waste in the Marshall Islands, Greenland and Spain, three locations with radioactive contamination resulting from American nuclear activity in the decades following World War II. Climate change could cause this nuclear waste to enter the environment, as warming temperatures melt ice sheets that contain radioactive liquid and raise sea levels that could pollute food and water sources with toxic waste, per the study. . . .
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