Palomares

This article covers the place; for the cyclist see Adrián Palomares .

Palomares municipality
coat of arms	Map of Spain
Basic data
Autonomous Community :	Andalusia
Province :	Almeria
Comarca :	Levante Almeriense
Coordinates	37 ° 15 ′  N , 1 ° 48 ′  W Coordinates: 37 ° 15 ′  N , 1 ° 48 ′  W
Residents :	1,668 (January 2011) INE
Postal code :	E-04617
Area code:	04035100000
administration
Website :	www.cuevasdelalmanzora.es
Location of the place
Almeria Province Palomares

Palomares is a small town on the Spanish southeast coast between Almería and Cartagena . It belongs to the municipality of Cuevas del Almanzora ; In 1966 it had around 2,000 inhabitants, in 2011 it was still 1,668.

Atomic bomb accident

During the Cold War , between 1960 and 1968, Operation Chrome Dome permanently flew bomber squadrons on four different routes around the Soviet Union. Palomares became known through the nuclear accident in Palomares with US nuclear weapons on January 17, 1966 , when a US long-range B-52 bomber crashed with four atomic bombs when it collided with a KC-135 tanker. Two of the bombs shattered when they hit the ground, releasing radioactive plutonium . A third bomb fell on a safety parachute to the surface of the earth and remained undamaged. The fourth bomb fell in the Mediterranean Sea and could only be discovered and recovered from the water through a tip from a fisherman.

The Spanish institute CIEMAT (Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas) found measurable amounts of the radioactive elements plutonium, uranium and americium in a 10 hectare area around Palomares in 2001.

Spanish and American researchers monitor the consequences of the crash every year, but so far have not found any health problems, including water and food poisoning. However, some zones remain contaminated and must be left alone. Although they are cordoned off by fences for security reasons, the mood among the people is depressed. The developments that have taken place elsewhere on the coast have bypassed the area. On October 19, 2015, Spain and the United States signed an agreement providing for further clean-up work in this area. The US finally promised to move even more contaminated soil from Palomares to a US repository.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Population figures see INE
2. ↑ http://www.n-tv.de/719056.html
3. ↑ Photo gallery - nuclear accidents: defective technology, deadly cargo , Spiegel Online
4. ↑ http://www.tagesspiegel.de/zeitung/Sonntag;art2566,2070354
5. ↑ Associated Press (October 8, 2006). Spain, US Agree to Radioactivity Cleanup 40 Years After Atomic Accident. Fox News. FOX. Archived from the original on November 13, 2007.
6. ↑ AP (October 19, 2015). Spain, US sign new accord to study further cleanup work after 1966 nuclear accident. US News. Madrid. Retrieved October 19, 2015.