Hazardous waste on the Scottish coast

1997/06/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ingurumena

During this century, the U.S. military has thrown numerous waste (especially in the Cold War) into the waters of Holy Lake in the Scottish Clyde estuary. This has brought serious consequences, according to the UK Ministry of Defense, since the Clyde estuary is one of the dirtiest coasts in the world.

According to data from environmental studies, the highest concentration of heavy metals, PCB and other toxic substances in the UK waters occurs in the waters of Lake Holy. This Scottish lake was used by the Americans to repair nuclear submarines between 1961 and 1992. Unfortunately, 130,000 m2 of harmful waste were dumped into Scottish waters.

Scientists have warned that the pollution cleaning system that has been put into operation is also very dangerous. Nuclear waste should be treated carefully during cleaning, which can seriously jeopardize the health of the area's population. Therefore, cleaning instead of solving problems can worsen.