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The spill was discovered 13 years ago, and happened even earlier, so we aren't sure how long this extremely toxic radioactive material (which is so toxic that c

• lolinder 3y ago
  They're measuring the groundwater and there's no evidence of radiation in it yet. That it's been this way for 13 years means it's not going to suddenly reach groundwater now—it's just that they didn't realize how much there was in the immediate location of the spill.
  • StanislavPetrov 3y ago
    >That it's been this way for 13 years No, the spill was discovered 13 years ago, but it happened even earlier. The article doesn't say when the spill from the 58-year-old building happened, just that it was detected 13 years ago. To me, the fact that an untold number of year passed before this massive, highly radioactive spill was detected, and the further fact that it took them 13 years to figure out how bad the spill was, doesn't inspire confidence that they have a full handle on the situation and have accurately measured just how widespread the contamination is.
    • bandyaboot 3y ago
      The article did indicate that there was work being done in the 80’s during which the floor of a “hot cell” was damaged and allowed the radioactive material to leak out into the soil.