Strange growth found on nuclear fuel

This story sounds like the opening plot of a bad horror movie......

Strange growth found on nuclear fuel

chronicle.augusta.com...

Strange nuclear waste lint might be "biological in nature"

Savannah River Site scientists are working to identify a strange growth found on racks of spent nuclear fuel collected from foreign governments.
The “white, string-like” material was found among thousands of spent fuel assemblies submerged in deep pools within the site’s L Area, according to a report filed by the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, a federal oversight panel.
“The growth, which resembles a spider web, has yet to be characterized, but may be biological in nature,” the report said.

Is anyone else getting those, "I think I saw this on a Zombie Movie!" feeling?

Savannah River National Laboratory collected a small sample in hopes of identifying the mystery lint — and determining whether it is alive.
L Area, with 3-foot-thick concrete walls, includes pools that range from 17 to 30 feet deep, where submerged racks are used to store an array of assemblies — some containing highly enriched uranium — from foreign and domestic research reactors. The material is kept there for national security reasons.

I only hope that the walls are thick enough to hold back anyone that gets turned into a zombie!!

Will Callicott, a spokesman for Savannah River National Laboratory, said in an e-mail that officials hope to collect a larger sample for analysis.
“But whatever it is, doesn’t appear to be causing any damage,” he said.

Let's hope that it doesn't cause any damage!

Savannah River National Laboratory collected a small sample in hopes of identifying the mystery lint — and determining whether it is alive.

.........Strange growth found around nuclear fuel.......
Sound's just like a bad horror movie..............
but this is real.

So, okay, maybe people won't be getting turned into zombies, but this is something interesting in the news.


Here is some more information on the Savannah River National Laboratory L Area Complex
www.srs.gov...

I see no reason to be afraid of this. It is an incredibly small niche that this form of live has evolved itself into. What I wonder is if they can actually use the radiation to benefit their biological processes instead of merely being really good at taking radiation.

thats pretty crazy, little rad-monsters

this must be weaponized... mutant ninjas!

s3-ec.buzzfed.com...

A new life form?

“The growth, which resembles a spider web, has yet to be characterized, but may be biological in nature,” the report said.

Oh, that does sound like it would make a good movie.

“But whatever it is, doesn’t appear to be causing any damage,” he said.

Famous last words.........

I'm surprised by the immaturity of your responses to the article. Is this something to be expected from you?

Perhaps the better synopsis is that we may have discovered an organism capable of withstanding high levels of radiation. We can then endeavor to determine by what mechanism it obtains this capability and perhaps use it to treat radiation sickness, and or adapt our bodies to better withstand the effects of radiation.

But hoping the containment facilities are sufficient to prevent a zombie attack is ludicrous at best.

Wouldn't that be crazy if this is a new life form and it actually eats/disposes of spent nuclear fuel? No shortage of food for it.

I remember when Three Mile Island happened and there was an alge growing in the damaged reactor core....

I don't know what they might be . I am very concerned aboutFukushima meltdowns and now the wall to unit 4 where many fuel rods are stored is in danger of collapsing. Anyway I worked for 18 months in a nuke plant like the ones that failed in Japan. I can see some of the problems but the probability of something happening is remote but possible. I liken it to russian roulette on steroids....

reply to post by Areyoupeopleinsane

adapt our bodies to better withstand the effects of radiation.

what? like real life superhero's?

I wonder what it was, before it mutated. I also wonder what it will continue to mutate into. It would be fantastic if it held some secrets to the betterment of mankind. Unfortunately...if they research at all at length...it will be for military purposes

reply to post by Areyoupeopleinsane


I was being sarcastic of course....Being that your avatar appears to be a character from The Simpsons, which includes alot of humor on the subject of nuclear fuels, I would think that you can realize that a bit of humor is needed when dealing with subjects such as these. Thank you for pointing out the possible importance of the discovery.

Originally posted by Areyoupeopleinsane
I'm surprised by the immaturity of your responses to the article. Is this something to be expected from you?

you can count on it... nerd

Concerning when I think about it.
I can't imagine anything good mutating
from radiation.

Originally posted by spaceg0at

Originally posted by Areyoupeopleinsane
I'm surprised by the immaturity of your responses to the article. Is this something to be expected from you?

you can count on it... nerd

"A guy who says stuff"

Yes you are.

reply to post by crazydaisy


Certainly not. If there's one thing we've learned from cheap B-movies (you know...those movies that always pay extra close attention to reality), it's that nuclear waste inevitably mutates harmless, and often cute and cuddly, animals into hideous, evil, unstoppable, blood-thirsty beasts.

Personally, I can't imagine any such "mutation" being more dangerous than the spent fuel itself. As has been mentioned, it may provide insight into how we can naturally defend ourselves against radiation, which I would think would be beneficial.

OMG there is so much speculation on those floating spiderwebs seen everywhere. We have grabbed them before and they come apart and turn liquid in your hand like snot. Could this be something 'from' the materials themselves or a part of nature or other, doing something about the chemicals and toxic substances?

reply to post by isyeye


More evidence.

Life WILL find a way.

Great find. S&F&

I found an interesting article from December 8th, 2011 about fungus feeding on nuclear radiation that I think will fit in good with this topic.

www.zmescience.com...

Chernnobyl fungus feeds on nuclear radiation
You know Chernobyl, right? The place of the biggest nuclear accident in the world? The place is so radioactive nobody lives in the vicinity anymore, and nearby plants are suffering major amounts of radiation. However, not everybody is sad about this event; a type of fungi (mushrooms) possess an ability beyond imagination: they can take the lethal radiation and use it as a source of energy to feed and grow. Researchers have called them radiotrophic fungus.

For some 500 million years, fungi have been inhabiting this planet, feeding on whatever they could finding, filling every biological niche they could find. But who could have actually guessed that they could feed on nuclear radiation? Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AEC) had a hunch, and they investigated it to test. They first got the idea after reading that samples brought from Chernobyl were filled with some black fungi growing on it.

“I found that very interesting and began discussing with colleagues whether these fungi might be using the radiation emissions as an energy source,” explained Casadevall.

Casadevall and his co-researchers then set about performing a variety of tests using several different fungi; two types of mushrooms were used, one that had naturally contains melanin, and one that was injected with the substance. They were then exposed to radiation levels 500 times bigger than the normal ones. The result? Both of them grew much faster than normally, when exposed to radiation.

“Just as the pigment chlorophyll converts sunlight into chemical energy that allows green plants to live and grow, our research suggests that melanin can use a different portion of the electromagnetic spectrum – ionizing radiation – to benefit the fungi containing it,” said co-researcher Ekaterina Dadachova.

They took the research one step further, and found some extremely interesting answers, which raise more questions. The melanin in these radiotrophic fungi is chemically identical to the melanin in our own bodies, and this led them to believe that it could be actually providing energy for skin cells. Perhaps even more interesting, this find has a special importance for space missions.

reply to post by isyeye


Strange growth??? Noooo, strange lint that could be biological in nature.

No "growth" found... A piece of lint. We will wait and see what this turns out to be.

Thanks for posting though, I had not heard of this yet. I will keep tabs on this because it really is interesting. I personally know the spokesperson in the article and, although I cannot say for sure until I find out who exactly in the lab is testing this, I assume I also know several of the scientists testing this.

As far as the 3 foot thick walls keeping zombies out... have you ever seen a 3 foot thick wall?

And soon we'll be walking on the sun.

makes one wonder.

Originally posted by Areyoupeopleinsane
I'm surprised by the immaturity of your responses to the article. Is this something to be expected from you?

Perhaps the better synopsis is that we may have discovered an organism capable of withstanding high levels of radiation. We can then endeavor to determine by what mechanism it obtains this capability and perhaps use it to treat radiation sickness, and or adapt our bodies to better withstand the effects of radiation.

But hoping the containment facilities are sufficient to prevent a zombie attack is ludicrous at best.

Alot of organisms can handle high levels of radiation. It's not a biggy.