Spain asks US to remove the Radioactive Soil 60 Years After Hydrogen Bomb Accident

Spain has requested the US to remove soil contaminated with radioactivity after the air-craft carrier's mid-air collision dumped four U.S. hydrogen bombs near a southern Spanish village nearly 60 years ago.

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Two of the bomb had plutonium-filled detonators which went off, dispersing several kilograms of highly radioactive plutonium 239 across the landscape around Palomares.

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Spain's Foreign Ministry stated there would be no more further details given on the petition until an official reply from the U.S comes across.

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Spain and the United States signed a statement of intent in 2015 for the further restoration and clear up of the Palomares site.

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When the bombs fell on Jan. 17, 1966, it killed seven 11 crew members, but no fatalities were reported on the ground.

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The 2015 statement stated that both countries are set to secure the area, removing contaminated soil and decontaminating the land immediately.

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Some 50,000 cubic meters of land spread over 44 plots were affected, and the government has been renting the land from its owners as a precaution to keep it protected and now hopes to expropriate it.

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Leading Spanish daily El País reported that the request had been sent across several months ago and that the U.S. Were reacting positively.

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Spain is pushing for a quick agreement as the country will be holding general elections in December.

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