Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Contact    |    RSS icon Twitter icon Facebook icon  
Unexplained Mysteries
You are viewing: Home > News > Science & Technology > News story
Welcome Guest ( Login or Register )  
All ▾
Search Submit

Science & Technology

Melting glaciers could expose Cold War base

By T.K. Randall
September 27, 2016 · Comment icon 9 comments

Officially, the base was little more than an Arctic research facility. Image Credit: US Army
A secret US facility hidden beneath the ice is believed to contain significant amounts of nuclear waste.
Constructed as part of a top-secret army program known as Project Iceworm, the base, which was situated in northwestern Greenland, was intended to be a launch site for nuclear weapons.

Consisting of a network of tunnels and facilities powered by a nuclear reactor, the true purpose of the base, which was known officially as 'Camp Century', was kept hidden even from the Danish government who were led to believe that it was simply a laboratory for Arctic research projects.

While the ultimate goal of the program was to deploy medium-range nuclear missiles capable of striking targets in the Soviet Union, the facility was abandoned only a few years later after it was discovered that the glacier was moving a lot more rapidly than anyone had previously predicted.
The base has since lain dormant for almost 50 years.

Now though, following the rate at which the Greenland glaciers have been melting, scientists have warned that copious quantities of radioactive material and toxic waste left dumped at the site may eventually be released in to the atmosphere.

Whether anyone will attempt to clean up the site before this happens however remains to be seen.

"When the waste was deposited there nobody thought it would get out again," said William Colgan, an assistant professor at Canada's York University.

Source: Sputnik International | Comments (9)




Other news and articles
Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by geraldnewfie 8 years ago
leave it to the infamous USA to destroy everything they touch....yes lets leave waste everywhere, here in canada they did same thing with chemicals under the ground, in ponds and god knows where else. they should be responsible for cleanup considering they made it
Comment icon #2 Posted by Zalmoxis 8 years ago
Here's a link to a website all about Camp Century. http://gombessa.tripod.com/scienceleadstheway/id9.html And a link to a "Business Insider" article about Project Iceworm http://www.businessinsider.com/project-iceworm-toxic-nuclear-waste-2016-8
Comment icon #3 Posted by Four Winds 8 years ago
 
Comment icon #4 Posted by paperdyer 8 years ago
OK -The next time some country needs help we should tell you to stuff it!  Back in WWII times burying was the way to dispose of stuff.
Comment icon #5 Posted by third_eye 8 years ago
Okay then ... why not bury it all in say ... Alaska ... Death Valley .... or near the border with Mexico ? ~
Comment icon #6 Posted by ChaosRose 8 years ago
Ya know...there are Americans who live near the border, right?  https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjpkvnu6bTPAhUI2SYKHVNvDFcQFggiMAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.businessinsider.com%2Fliving-near-the-us-mexico-border-fence-2015-2&usg=AFQjCNHPgEEvlPDtfcbu0BR6CFMa9AnzJw
Comment icon #7 Posted by jmccr8 8 years ago
After the 2nd world war the military near my home town put unused out dated ammunition on the ice on middle of lakes in in the springtime just before the thaw so that they would fall into the water to dispose of excess inventory. as a side note Canada produced enough ammunition to kill every man woman and child 3 times during that war, good thing nobody could shoot straight and make every shot count. jmccr8
Comment icon #8 Posted by geraldnewfie 8 years ago
bury it in their own country!
Comment icon #9 Posted by geraldnewfie 8 years ago
nobody needs US help, all they do is destroy **** 


Please Login or Register to post a comment.


Our new book is out now!
Book cover

The Unexplained Mysteries
Book of Weird News

 AVAILABLE NOW 

Take a walk on the weird side with this compilation of some of the weirdest stories ever to grace the pages of a newspaper.

Click here to learn more

We need your help!
Patreon logo

Support us on Patreon

 BONUS CONTENT 

For less than the cost of a cup of coffee, you can gain access to a wide range of exclusive perks including our popular 'Lost Ghost Stories' series.

Click here to learn more

Recent news and articles