Submarine Reveals 200,000 Nuclear Waste Barrels Lying on the Atlantic Seafloor
During the 2026 NODSSUM campaign, scientists aboard the Pourquoi Pas? used the Nautile submersible to inspect a deep Atlantic dumping site and found more than 200,000 radioactive waste barrels, many corroded and leaking into the sediment. Radionuclides including cobalt-60, niobium-94, cesium-137 and americium-241 were detected, and researchers collected sediment, water and biota samples to study how the contaminants move and affect deep-sea life; further lab analysis is planned to map the spread and ecological impact.