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US dumped 47,000 barrels of radioactive waste off California

There have been several sonar images and more detailed pictures showing that many of the barrels have completely disintegrated with the toxic waste escaping into the water. ©Image Credit: Unsplash / Naja Bertolt Jensen

Environmental protections and laws have come a long way, and for good reason. It's now known that approximately 47,800 containers of radioactive waste were dumped in the ocean west of San Francisco between 1946 and 1970, which now littering a national marine sanctuary.

Barrels weren't expected to last

More than 47,000 barrels were tossed into the ocean, and they weren't expected to last. Steel drums tipped with concrete held the toxic waste, and it wasn't even a secret.

As crews pushed the barrels overboard, they were meant to land in a specific area, but in many cases, they were completely missed. Even worse, no one was checking the work and ensuring accuracy.

The barrels are scattered across 1,400 square kilometers of the seafloor, 25-60 miles west of San Francisco, with many of them lying within the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary.

The Farallon Island Radioactive Waste Dump, as it's been named, has depths that range from 100 meters to 2,000 meters.

A variety of materials inside the barrels

What has many people concerned is the type of toxic waste inside the barrels. Listed materials—totaling hundreds of terabecquerels of radioactivity—include thorium, transuranic elements, uranium, and mixed fission products

There is no precise breakdown by isotope, making the toxic waste a bit of a mystery. It's officially classified as "low-level", which by definition means it's not transuranic waste or high-level waste.

Many barrels have disintegrated

Over the past few decades, several sonar images have taken a closer look at the barrels and waste. In 1994, the Navy used a deep submergence vehicle and an unmanned vehicle to take a better look.

The Navy showed that some of the barrels looked completely intact, whereas many others had completely disintegrated, with chunks of concrete and rust left behind. Whatever was in those barrels had seeped out.

Regulations exist, but the barrels are still there

Despite today's strong environmental protections, the fact remains that the barrels are still at the bottom of the ocean, with no agency taking on the onus of collecting them.

Source: Space Daily

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