Air Force releases findings of Wassaw Sound survey

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Mitch Gettle
  • Air Force Print News
WASHINGTON --  Air Force officials completed their evaluation of radiation levels in the Wassaw Sound where an incomplete nuclear weapon was lost off the coast of Georgia in 1958.

During a June 17 press conference in Savannah, Ga., Air Force officials released results of a data collection survey conducted Sept. 30.

“We found a variation of radiation in this area; however, this is not a surprise since radiation is found in most dirt,” said Dr. Billy W. Mullins, associate director of strategic security for Air Force air and space operations. “The radiation levels we found are due to the radioactive decay process of naturally occurring mineral deposits in the area."

On Feb. 5, 1958, a B-47 bomber carrying a single Mk15 Mod 0 nuclear bomb had a midair collision with a fighter jet. The bomb was not configured with a nuclear capsule on board. After three unsuccessful attempts to land the bomber, the weapon was jettisoned several miles from Savannah into the Atlantic Ocean.

The Air Force considered the case to be closed until 2004, when media reports indicated a citizens group named American Sea Shore Underwater Recovery Expedition had discovered enhanced levels of radiation and were concerned that the elevated readings were associated with the lost bomb.

In response, Air Force officials worked with the Department of Energy, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to complete the survey.

“We sent a team of 23 people to meet with ASSURE team members to go over the data they could provide us,” Dr. Mullins said. "We went out to the sound and took detailed radiation measurements from over 20,000 data points as well as 12 seabed samples.

“We do not have any evidence that they found the bomb,” he said. "We found no evidence of man-made enriched uranium."

No new information was uncovered that leads Air Force officials to modify the conclusions reached in 2001 -- that it is in the best interest of the public and the environment to leave the bomb in its resting place and remain categorized as irretrievably lost.

“There is no danger from this bomb in its current position, wherever that may be," Dr. Mullins said. "For the people of Savannah, there is no exposure to unnatural levels of radiation. And, any attempt to search and locate this bomb will result in a negative economic and environmental impact to the local area for no gain in public safety."