Updated · The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel · Aug 15
Scientists Find 3,355 Radioactive Waste Barrels Leaking at 4,700 Meters in Northeast Atlantic
Updated
Updated · The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel · Aug 15
Scientists Find 3,355 Radioactive Waste Barrels Leaking at 4,700 Meters in Northeast Atlantic
3 articles · Updated · The Daily Galaxy --Great Discoveries Channel · Aug 15
Summary
20 Nautile dives during a May 27-June 28 expedition gave scientists their first close-up view of corroded barrels, with some visibly leaking material into muddy seafloor sediment.
Radionuclide readings near the dump site came in above expected background levels, including cobalt-60 and niobium-94, though researchers said cesium-137 and other signals could also reflect weapons tests or nuclear accidents.
3,355 containers were mapped in 2025 by the Ulyx robot at a site believed to hold more than 200,000 barrels dumped in the second half of the 20th century.
Sediment, water and biological samples from areas around the barrels will now be analyzed to determine how far contamination has spread and whether deep-sea organisms are absorbing it.