Washington and Madrid have reached a new agreement in principle for the United States to clean up land contaminated by radiation from undetonated nuclear bombs that accidentally fell on a site in southern Spain in 1966. The two sides “intend to negotiate a binding agreement for a cooperative effort to conduct further remediation of the Palomares site and arrange for disposal of the contaminated soil at an appropriate site in the United States.

What Happened? 

• On Jan. 17, 1966, a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying four nuclear bombs collided with a tanker plane during midair refueling over the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain, killing seven of 11 crew members.
• None of the bombs exploded, although the detonators in two of them broke up, spreading 7 pounds (3 kg) of plutonium over a 200-hectare (490-acre) area near the village of Palomares.

Under an earlier accord that ended in 2010, Washington paid €314,000 ($350,000) a year for tests for radioactive contamination and regular blood tests for more than 1,000 Palomares residents. Immediately after the accident, both countries took steps to secure the area by removing contaminated soil and for decades the rural area was deemed free of radioactivity. As a precaution the government sealed off the area until it could reach a deal with Washington over a cleanup.

Green group Ecologists in Action blasted the confidentiality of the agreement and said Washington should be responsible for all the cleanup costs and provide financial compensation for local people.