Living in Villaricos - Page 2

We have brought a holiday home 500 yds from a small fenced off piece of nuclear contaminated land. We have no worries at all as it happened in 1966 and the town is still expanding with some new buildings nearby. Everyone has heard of Hiroshima and people still live there don't they???

I don't consider there are any problems with living here in Palomares.Mind you with some of the antics of some of the inhabitants I wonder if the fallout had addled their brains at times!!

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Spectrum FM Costa Almeria

5h · 

This is the situation of the Palomares radioactive landOn January 17, 1966, in the middle of the Cold War, two United States Army planes fly over Palomares at about 9,000 meters above sea level. They are a B-52 bomber and a KC-135 mother plane. During a refueling task, the planes collide. The bomber carries four thermonuclear bombs, each weighing 1.5 megatons, which fall on the Cuevas del Almanzora neighborhood. Two bombs are recovered without damage, but two others dispersed their plutonium load and contaminated the neighborhood, although without producing a nuclear chain reaction.Almost six decades later, the land contaminated by plutonium is still in Almería territory. To understand the situation of this problem and its magnitude, we have prepared this series of ten questions and answers:After the accident, what cleaning operation was carried out in the area?

During the so-called “Operation Broken Arrow”, hundreds of American soldiers and Spanish operators from the Nuclear Energy Board were in charge of cleaning the area and recovering the remains of the devices. 4,810 drums, each measuring 242 liters, full of earth and radioactive waste, were removed and taken to a nuclear warehouse in South Carolina. In March 1966, the Spanish and US governments considered the issue resolved. 900 certificates were distributed ensuring that the lands were decontaminated, compensation was paid and the famous Fraga Iribarne bath took place.

And is it true that the lands were decontaminated?

No. According to Ecologists in Action, the United States took only 270 grams of the 9 kilos of plutonium that the weapons contained. The rest is scattered and buried. Two pits were opened, measuring 1,000 and 3,000 cubic meters, where radioactive material was deposited. In 2007, a study by the Center for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (Ciemat) located remains of plutonium spread over about 40 hectares of land and estimated the contaminated land at about 50,000 cubic meters. A recent government report to the US Senate recognizes that Spain "continues to suffer the effects of the North American country's nuclear activities during the 'Cold War' with the presence of residual contamination in Palomares (Almería) that exceeds the levels of European regulations."

Was any decision made to isolate the affected plots?

Between 2007 and 2011 they were, and continue, fenced.

Can the Palomares plutonium disintegrate over the years?

Plutonium takes 24,000 years to decay by half.

Has a cleaning project been prepared?

In 2010, Ciemat prepared a cleanup project indicating that Spain needs to “negotiate a binding agreement with the United States to take charge of the custody of the contaminated soil,” since our country does not have the necessary facilities. The land would be packed in containers, transported by road to a port (Cartagena or Garrucha) and sent to the United States, to end up deposited in the so-called National Security Site in the Nevada desert, about 130 kilometers northwest of Las Vegas. In total, the operation would take between 12 and 24 months. The researchers consider that, through sieving, the 50,000 cubic meters of radioactive soil could be reduced to 6,000, which are what would have to be removed.

Have Spain and the US signed any document on the withdrawal of land?

Yes, in 2015, on the occasion of his visit to Madrid, the then US Secretary of State, John Kerry, signed a political document with his Spanish counterpart, José Manuel García-Margallo, by which Spain would be in charge of the cleanup and the US would take away the radioactive earth. That declaration of intent had to be expressed in a legally binding agreement, in the form of an international treaty, detailing what part of the task each country was responsible for assuming and how it would be financed. That agreement has never been signed. The last conversations on the subject were held by Joe Biden and Pedro Sánchez in May 2023. The North American president assured the Spaniard that the US Government is willing to participate in the cleanup. But we keep waiting.

Do these lands cause any danger for the inhabitants of Palomares?

The European Commission, in two verification missions, has concluded that surveillance programs in the area are appropriate and efficient and the potential radiological impact on the public appears to be very small. For years, radiological surveillance studies and land sampling have been carried out, including fauna, such as rabbits that jump from areas fenced off due to contamination to other areas. The results have not been relevant nor have they demonstrated a serious potential radiological impact.

Who are the owners of the polluting lands?

Several plots were immediately occupied and expropriated, but others have remained private property, for whose occupation a rent has been paid. In 2021, the Spanish Government began an expropriation process of 324,073 square meters of land in 44 plots, located in Cuevas de Almanzora and Vera. Only six owners have accepted the price set by the Administration. In September 2023, the Provincial Expropriation Jury has set the fair price of twenty properties, "although there are still files to be substantiated, which will be done in sessions to be held soon." In the appraised plots the fair price has been set at 6,856.20 euros per hectare. The economic discrepancy between the owners and the Administration will be resolved in court.

If the US Government ignores the issue, can the Spanish Government be forced to decontaminate the area?

Ecologistas en Acción has tried and in 2017 took the case to the National Court, which has ruled out forcing the National Security Council to decontaminate Palomares because “it is not competent.” The decision has been endorsed by the Supreme Court. The Constitutional Court (TC), in a ruling dated January 25, 2024, has inadmissible the appeal for protection. The Second Chamber does not appreciate, after examining the appeal, that there is "special constitutional significance" in the matter raised, and agrees to archive the proceedings without further processing. Environmentalists have taken the issue to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) and have initiated new judicial actions to force the cleaning to be carried out by the Ministry of Ecological Transition (Miteco), but the Prosecutor's Office and the State Attorney's Office differ in their opinion on which judicial body should rule, whether the National Court or the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the TSJ of Madrid. Spain does not have appropriate facilities to deposit high-level radioactive waste permanently.

Where are the contaminated lands located?

There are three contaminated areas: one, near the cemetery, which was where the two pits were made to deposit radioactive material; another, a plot of land in the center of Palomares, and 20 hectares are in the Almagrera mountain range, where the wind carried part of the pollution during the fall of the bombs. Those of greatest neighborhood concern are the first two.

Source: La Voz de Almeria in English using Google Translate

All reactions:1313

Speaking personally I would choose Villaricos any day. It's a lovely place, quiet during the week and buzzing with the market on a Sunday. It has a lovely feel to it in my view, but everyone's tastes are different so it depends on what you do or don't want. Wherever you choose in these parts having your own transport is really a must, public transport services are not frequent enough. Villaricos is favoured by Spanish people - a definite plus in my opinion - so not as full of "UK expat" ( eg UK Immigrant) enclaves. You'll expand your social group and probably be more likely to start learning Spanish living in Villaricos than in somewhere like Mojácar. I'd say "go for it". I definitely would if I had the cash to do so. 

I think an important counter balance to recall when these nuclear scare stories surface (as they do every few years) is the importance Palomares plays in supplying products grown on the land around there.

Palomares is a significant agricultural centre with products grown there being exported, not just sold locally.  Were there any real risk of nuclear contamination of the soil, you can guarantee products grown in Palomares wouldn’t be allowed to be offered for sale, let alone exported.

Some time ago I posted a link from a report from the nuclear contamination monitoring site that indicated measurements taken showed no significant risk.

lWe have had a holiday home in Villaricos for 7 years and love it… quite in the winter but everywhere is and we don’t mind that a bit of winter Sun. Stunning views along the front and the harbour and some great places to eat. People are friendly and helpful also. Can not comment on living there as we don’t but we do spend a lot of time there and it’s great. Last week glass of wine €2.50 plate of Tapas €4 sat in the sun…. Lovely 🍷☀️😎

I quite agree. 

It's a lovely part if Spain .

Been to the Vilaricos market many times and it is a beautiful little town. All that is missing is a regular bus service to Mojacar/ Garrucha/Vera, and the place will explode.

I was not impressed with Palomares. Did not give me the, I would love to live here buzz, as they say. So I would pick Vilaricos everytime. We are staying in Vera Playa, away from the beach, and we use the local bus connections all the time. So quite a lovely area.

We too have a holiday home in villaricos- hope to relocate there in the next few years - it’s a great little place and if I was buying in the area again - I’d definitely choose It again