French scientists diving in the Nautile submersible have located corroded barrels containing radioactive waste dumped into the northeastern Atlantic Ocean during the twentieth century. More than 200,000 barrels were discarded in the region during the second half of the 20th century, GEEKSPIN reported.
Around 30 scientists completed 20 dives to depths over 4.5 kilometers between May 27 and June 28, 2026. The French expedition took place under the Nuclear Ocean Dump Site Survey Monitoring project, known as NODSSUM. The mission marked the first detailed close-up study of the waste barrels in decades.
Researchers found that some metal drums were so corroded that their contents leaked into surrounding seabed silt. On-site measurements revealed radionuclide levels exceeding natural background readings, with cobalt-60 and niobium-94 offering the clearest signs of the waste. Scientists also recorded cesium-137 and americium-241, which originate from both weapons tests and nuclear accidents.
Anemones, sponges, and crabs have settled on the containers. Scientists stated that marine life colonizes the barrels because they are the only hard surfaces on the soft silt sea floor. The team collected samples of sediment, water, organisms, and microorganisms to determine whether marine life absorbs any radioactive material, alongside control samples from nearby rocky habitats.
Low-level waste and survey history
The waste was low-level material mixed with concrete or bitumen and sealed in metal. Disposal strategies at the time likely assumed the contents would gradually leak and disperse into the ocean. France alone dumped more than 46,000 barrels during two operations in 1967 and 1969, while other European nations used the same dumping site.
The 2026 expedition followed a mapping survey conducted last year by the robot Ulix. That robotic mission located 3,355 individual barrels and collected 5,000 liters of water samples, 345 sediment core samples, and 34 specimens of fish and crustaceans to help focus the human-crewed dives.
Groundwater discovered under Sahara
In separate environmental reporting, an assessment by Alan MacDonald of the British Geological Survey in 2012 evaluated groundwater reserves across Africa. His research showed that the continent holds more than 650 cubic kilometers of groundwater, with the largest volumes concentrated in sedimentary aquifers beneath Libya, Algeria, Egypt, and Sudan.
Most of the water rests in tiny connected pores and rock fractures, functioning like a water-soaked kitchen sponge. The survey results indicated that some Nubian groundwater has remained trapped beneath the Sahara for almost one million years.
