Old nuclear waste has been found in the English Channel that was dumped from 1950 to 1963, Spiegel and multiple German journalists have reported. When the waste was dumped there, it was believed that it would dissipate over time. However, that did not happen and it is still there.
The media organizations took pictures at the bottom of the sea and reported their findings:
Jettisoned by both the British and the Belgians, the containers hold some of the estimated 17,224 metric tons of low-level radioactive waste dumped in the English Channel's underwater valley known as Hurd's Deep, just north of the isle of Alderney, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The British barrels are estimated to have contained 58 trillion becquerels (units of radioactivity), while the Belgian barrels held some 2.4 trillion bequerels. By way of comparison, the European Union's limit for drinking water is 10 becquerels per liter.
The revelation undermines the case for nuclear power as an energy source in the future. The unintended consequence of having more nuclear plants in the future is, where will all the waste go? Dumping waste in the ocean creates a long-term health risk for fish caught in the area.
Due to the extreme public safety concerns accompanying any nuclear plant, the burden of proof is on the nuclear industry to prove that any new plant that they build has a viable plan for disposing waste. Coal plants decimate the local environment and quality of life in the area and coal is a finite resource. Solar and wind power are safe and effective and they provide infinite resources to use. Putting a solar or wind farm in every community would boost the local economy and tax base and address our energy solutions for the long term as well as reduce pollution.
The revelation also undermines the case for more nuclear weapons in the future. The question for policy planners is, where does the waste go that is not being used? This will take on even greater urgency should nuclear technology spread from North Korea, Iran, or Israel to other countries.