The Hanford nuclear reservation in Washington state produced most of the plutonium our nation used from the the beginning of the atomic bomb through the 1980s. As one can imagine, this production also led to massive amounts of toxic waste. However, one of its sources is not part of the usual suspects.

The area is the focus of the largest environmental cleanup operation in the country right now, and that includes scrubbing all the rabbit feces because it is radioactive. The jackrabbits have taken quite a liking to the nuclear sludge, which contains a radioactive salt that they can't get enough of. According to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer,

Jackrabbits routinely burrowed into those sites. They found the salt, liked it, and licked it. Later, they pooped it, leaving slightly radioactive scat all over the ground.

Visit the link to watch the video. While this story has led to many jokes in the commentary, think for a moment about the implications of this event and how the rabbits are 1) food for prey, spreading that radioactive meat to other animals of prey, and; 2) how that scat might affect crops or native flora. While rabbits seem like small impact, they do proliferate wildly. Just ask the Australians about their ongoing rabbit problem.

My question is this: Is anyone conducting studies on how the radioactive waste is affecting the rabbits over the long term? Or, how that scat might affect the soil? Is this really a problem, if people avoid eating rabbit? Are rabbits one method to eliminate toxic waste, or at least mitigate it? Or, will PETA eat ME for lunch?