January 2016 marks the 50th anniversary of the contamination by plutonium of the Palomares area of Almeria, caused by the accidental fall of several atomic bombs during a United States military exercise. The environmental pressure during this time has been decisive in moving towards a definite solution to the problem, which now appears closer and more likely than ever.

Francisco Castejón, José Ignacio Domínguez and Igor Parra, Ecologistas en Acción. Translated by María Coelho Covas. Revista El Ecologista nº 87.

On 17 January 2016 it will be 50 years since an American strategic B-52 bomber collided with a KC-135 tanker aircraft supplying it with fuel, over the town of Palomares, a municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora (Almeria). This manœuvre was necessary in the context of the Cold War in order to maintain the principle of mutually assured destruction (MAD). The airplanes were kept flying uninterruptedly in order to be able to respond to a hypothetical pre-emptive strike by the Soviet Union with a nuclear attack capable of destroying the entire country, in this way acting as a deterrent. The Palomares contamination can therefore be considered an aftermath of the Cold War.

During the refuelling manœuvre both planes collided and caught fire. Four of the seven members of the B-52 crew were able to parachute out; the remaining three were killed along with the four members of the tanker aircraft. The B-52 aircraft was carrying four thermonuclear bombs of 1 megaton each (70 times the destructive capability of either Hiroshima or Nagasaki). These bombs crashed non-activated to the ground, and so, luckily, no nuclear explosion ensued.

One of the bombs fell about five miles from the coast into the ocean, another bomb’s fall was curbed by the parachute, but the remaining two hit the ground. Upon impact, their non-nuclear explosive was triggered, scattering the encased plutonium on the ground and under aerosol form, reaching areas far from the impact zones, before also finally settling on the soil. The United States Army was more concerned with recovering the bombs intact than with the contamination. The search efforts for the bomb that landed in the ocean entailed 12.000 men for nearly three months, before it was finally found with the help of Francisco Simó, or “Paco el de la Bomba” («Bomb Paco» or «Bomb Frankie»), who had seen it hit.

Fraga’s dip

The so-called Fraga’s dip, along with the American ambassador, in their famous Meyba swimming trunks, represents a farcical footnote to this accident. They were probably aware that the danger was not in bathing in the sea, then uncontaminated, but in rollicking in the sands of Palomares. The Franco regime took advantage of the folksy nature of “Bomb Paco” and Fraga’s dip episode to conceal behind a smoke screen the consequences of the accident facing the population and the environment: the inhabitants were never evacuated or warned of the dangers of radiation, in the same way as they were never compensated or instructed on how to act for the future.

During the decontamination process the American military took 1.500 tons of soil, which were deposited in Aiken, in southern California. The decontamination was by no means complete, in addition to the no less than two trenches dug by those men, where contaminated material was in turn deposited, and which has since remained in Palomares. There is a rumoured third trench in the area in a nearby location. The American authorities dispatched documents, which the neighbours were made to sign, whereby they waved any claim. The Nuclear Energy Council (NEC) [1] put in place radiation detectors and signed a contract with the United States for the purpose of monitoring the contamination and its effects: this was known as Project Indalo, which existed until 2009 and whose conclusions were classified.

No less than 50 years

From that time and up until 2004 the successive Spanish governments have done nothing to decontaminate the area, showing more preoccupation with not disturbing their American friend than for the health and development of the people of Palomares [2]. In fact, the administrations overlooked several key bilateral negotiations for United States foreign policy, in which the decontamination of Palomares could have been placed on the table. In all agreements Spain appeared subordinate and was often met with opposition from important sectors of the population: from the agreements on construction and use of American bases, to its restricted use after the NATO referendum; or from both wars in Iraq to the agreement for the antimissile shield, or the use of the base in Morón – the decontamination of Palomares was never even proposed as compensation in the various negotiations.

More specifically, in the discussions about the antimissile shield of the Rota base, Zapatero refused to include Palomares in the negotiation, and in the talks over the deployment in Morón, Morenés said: “Spain has enough problems to start raising new ones”. The justification of “bad debtor” where a precedent would be set by the failure to decontaminate Palomares regarding the clean-up of other contamination incidents [3] could have been overcome in any of the aforementioned agreements. Nevertheless, the subordination of our governments and the concern over being a nuisance was always made apparent.

Over the course of time we have discovered that all the activities dangerous to public health, which should have been avoided, were carried out: the soil was disturbed and cultivated, livestock grazed and people settled in houses within the contaminated area. Of special note are two events involving the construction of reservoirs, producing a considerable agitation of soil and the release of contamination in 1987; and an attempt to build a development, also causing movement of soil and the spread of contamination, in the late nineties. This later event was decisive in setting off the alarm for this unfortunate matter. Both events registered on the detectors previously placed throughout the area. The attempt to build a development was carried out in the midst of the real-estate bubble and the ensuing contamination prevented the coastline near Palomares from suffering the same fate of the remaining coast in the area, buried under brick.

Time exacerbated the situation, seeing that on the one hand the contamination spread and scattered throughout the area, and on the other hand, the plutonium converted to americium, which is more radioactive and dangerous. Conversely, project Indalo ensured that a few hundred people were checked for contamination each year in NEC’s premises, later known as CIEMAT. It is not difficult to imagine the strain on those waiting for the results of the tests, or the desperation felt by those who tested positive. Additionally, the Palomares contamination has always represented a hindrance for growth in the area and has prevented the sale of its farm and cattle products.

Environmental action: the long road to decontamination

We environmentalists were not welcomed in Palomares. We were seen as prophets of doom and accused of doing harm to Palomares. To the criticism we replied: “The bad news is not that Palomares is contaminated. The bad news is that it is and the Government is doing nothing to fix it”.

After the second episode of radiation spread mentioned above Jesús Caicedo, mayor of Cuevas, took action and decided to listen to the Ecologistas en Acción representatives in the area, who had protested repeatedly by letter and have been his advisors ever since. Thanks to this alliance, the relationship with the population in the area improved and they understood that we merely wished that the radiation be removed so that they might have peace of mind. This alliance has been of vital importance in the road to decontamination.

Our campaign throughout the years has included public criticism, several public statements, articles and press conferences, on some occasions attended by unusual individuals unrelated to the press. We wrote to several authorities, including the American ambassador in Spain, James Costos. We also directed an episode for the show El Escarabajo Verde and a documentary for Hispan TV. We tried to involve the Nuclear Safety Council (NSC) unsuccessfully.

The now late Juan Antonio Rubio, Director General of CIEMAT and main driver from the institutions for the clean-up initiatives in Palomares, also appeared on the scene. This research centre was in charge of initiating two ground-breaking demands for the environmental initiative: the assessment of the contamination and the enclosure of the contaminated areas. Both operations were coordinated by Teresa Mendizábal, who was another key player during the process. A three-dimensional map was created as a result, enabling the perception of the exact extent and depth of the radiation, and the contaminated areas were fenced off in order to prevent human intrusion.

The assessment brought to light the existence of three contaminated areas with a surface of about 60 hectares and a total volume of approximately 50.000 m3 of soil contaminated with plutonium and americium. According to CIEMAT there is still roughly 0,5 kg of plutonium left on the ground. The data reveals the danger posed by nuclear energy – that problems of the scope we are witnessing can be generated by such a small amount of plutonium.

We were also in constant contact with CIEMAT and our pressure was useful in terms of achieving a better result. The pressure exerted over the Spanish authorities by Juan Antonio Rubio combined with ours. Obama’s presence in the United States changed the spirit of that administration and they took initiative by opening negotiations with the Spanish Government in 2009. The attitude of the latter was somewhat disappointing, as the negotiators sent were not on par with the American emissaries (an ambassador against a Secretary of State). Bilateral contacts have been a constant ever since.

All these breakthroughs were, however, insufficient. The most important factor was lacking: the clean-up. In the wake of the arrival of CIEMAT’s engineers, several meetings for the neighbours in the area were organized, where our presence was also key in detailing what needed to be done and in clarifying that guarantees would be demanded to end the contamination.

We also exerted pressure over the NSC from various positions, including the Advisory Committee. Instead of proposing that decontamination be carried out, said body finally accepted to publishing a simple monograph containing the contamination data for Palomares.

Also under dispute is the use to be given to the land once it is decontaminated. We wish to make clear that we will insist on the sustainable development of the area and will not condone any projects which violate the environment. The building of a museum of the history of the region would be a sound initiative, considering the archaeological sites of the surrounding area and the possible culmination of the museum with the episode of the bombs.

Since the demise of Rubio we are once again engulfed by paralysis. In order to break through we have attempted legal action and an online signature campaign. The Almeria branch of Ecologistas en Acción has lodged a complaint against the Government, the NSC and CIEMAT for crimes against public health. In it, the neglect of these bodies facing the problem is denounced. The Government is held particularly responsible for allowing the situation without exerting sufficient pressure with the United States. The Prosecutor’s Office has accepted the complaints, which will run their course and perhaps ensure a point of no-return for the clean-up agreement.

What lies ahead

The clean-up of the contaminated territory is not an easy task. The main hurdle is exactly what to do with the soil. There is no location in Spain where this type of low-level and long-lived residual waste, of such large volume, could be deposited. Furthermore, it would be unfair to expect it, since the United States should be held responsible for the waste it generates, as indeed should every other country in the world. There is also the matter of who should pay for the costs of decontamination, the answer being the same party responsible for the accident: the United States. The matter of compensations for the injured inhabitants of Palomares, who have suffered the effects of the contamination all these decades, must also be dealt with.

As for the decontamination, there are two options: one is the removal of all the soil, the other is to sift through it in order to separate the contaminated portion from the other, thereby reducing the amount of soil to be processed to a tenth of its volume (about 6.000 m3). As a disadvantage to the first option is the sheer amount of soil to be removed from the territory; however, the second option entails handling a more radioactive material, which would in turn require further safety measures. The first option is favoured by both the Americans and the interested parties, as long as the contaminated soil is shipped somewhere fit in the Nevada Desert of the United States.

A few weeks ago we were surprised by the news that John Kerry held with him an agreement to be signed by the Spanish Government, stipulating the Palomares clean-up. The rather brief agreement only specifies that the United States would cover costs and remove the soil. Furthermore, it allows for any of the parties to terminate it at any time, so, should any party contrary to the agreement come into power after the Obama administration, they could suspend all clean-up activities. This agreement, which was negotiated in secrecy, does not envisage compensation for any of the inhabitants of the area, who have suffered the consequences of this accident for fifty years.

The Government has released various items of information, so far unverified, regarding the cleaning operation. One of these items concerns the building of a road from Palomares to Cartagena, where the residual waste would be shipped. It seems unwise to build this new infrastructure when there is already a highway and a road connecting Palomares to Cartagena, as well as harbours nearer to Palomares were the contaminated soil could be boarded, such as in Garrucha or Carboneras. This new road could be linked to future speculative manœuvres in the area. Moreover, the clean-up operation has been estimated at 560 million euros – however, this would include the actual decontamination, transportation, preparation of storage and its maintenance over the required period of time. Estimates by CIEMAT in 2009 valued the clean-up itself at about 30 million. Up until that moment, approximately 25 million euros had already been spent, which included the expropriation of land.

It is vital that an investigation be carried out with an eye to assess the reach of the contamination, which could have been exacerbated in the last eight years. It is necessary to measure outside the trenches in case the contamination has spread and also to consider the ocean and check if the level of plutonium is still acceptable.

In conclusion, let us make sure that the good news concerning the decontamination of Palomares is made effective, so that it can be done properly and no radioactive material be left in the soil or water. Also, we will strive to ensure that the population of the region is compensated, without the need to pave over the coast or the surrounding area.

Notas

[1] The Nuclear Energy Council (NEC) was the body in charge of all things related to nuclear facilities and radioactivity. It was founded in 1955 with support from the United States to carry out research activities that were to empower Spain with nuclear capability. NEC was in charge of safety, waste management and research, being both judges and interested party until the establishment of the Nuclear Safety Council in 1980. The body that succeeded it was the CIEMAT (Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research), which diversified its scope and currently only carries out research.

[2] This was revealed in the documents made public during Wikileaks. In these documents the American authorities even express surprise over the indifference of Spain.

[3] There are approximately forty “Broken Arrow” cases worldwide, as are known the accidents involving nuclear bombs, which occur during military confrontation.