A team of French scientists has discovered 3,355 barrels of radioactive waste lying at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. The find was made at a depth of nearly 13,000 feet and hundreds of miles away from the French coastline.

This, however, is only a small fraction of what actually lies underwater. Between 1946 and 1990, more than 200,000 barrels of nuclear waste were dumped into the sea by European nations. At the time, experts believed this was the safest way to protect people on land. The process was even supervised by the Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA), a body of 34 countries responsible for nuclear safety and waste management.

Scientists now warn that these barrels, many of which have already crossed their lifespan, could leak radioactive material into the ocean. If absorbed by sea creatures, the radiation may travel up the food chain, eventually reaching humans through seafood. This could cause long-term health problems, including tissue damage and a higher risk of cancer.

The barrels were originally designed to last 20 to 26 years and release radioactive material slowly. But decades later, their ability to hold waste safely has faded.

For the first phase of their research, the French team used sonar technology and the UlyX underwater robot to map a part of the ocean floor known as the Abyssal Plains. They found that most of the radioactive material inside the barrels is weak and currently does not pose an immediate threat since it is lying deep underwater.

However, experts stressed that the long-term danger remains. Once marine life absorbs the radiation, the contamination could spread.

Studies show that about one-third of the material is tritium, considered less harmful. But the rest contains beta and gamma emitters, along with around two percent alpha radiation. These substances lose their strength at different speeds:

  • Caesium-137 can last about 30 years.

  • Plutonium-241 stays for around 13 years.

  • Uranium-238 can remain radioactive for more than 4.5 billion years.

One of the major risks is Strontium-90, which behaves like calcium and can be absorbed by sea animals, eventually entering human diets.

The scientists plan to continue their mission in 2026. In this next stage, they will measure radionuclides in seawater, sediments, and marine organisms to understand how far the contamination has spread.

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