Spanish Prime Minister Says Progress Made On Palomares Nuclear Crash Cleanup - White House

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2023) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that he made progress with US President Joe Biden regarding the cleanup of nuclear contamination caused by the crash of a US strategic bomber in 1966, according to a White House pool report.

Sanchez and Biden met at the White House on Friday to hold talks on a range of shared issues, including cleanup of the crash contamination. In January 1966, a US B-52 bomber carrying four thermonuclear weapons collided with a tanker during mid-air refueling over the Spanish coast, sending its payload to the ground below.

Two of the bombs, which landed near the fishing village of Palomares, contaminated the nearby area with radioactive material after their non-nuclear explosives detonated. The United States has conducted some remediation since the incident.

"Regarding Palomares, there has clearly been progress," Sanchez said, as quoted in the White House pool report. "We have agreed to demonstrate our willingness to solve this problem and have instructed the technical teams to meet as soon as possible to finally be able to extract this contaminated soil and remove it from Spain."

In March, the Spanish Foreign Ministry submitted a formal request to the US government to remove the contaminated soil, pointing to a commitment signed in October 2015 to pursue the matter.

Earlier on Friday, White House Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said that the US expects negotiations on a cleanup agreement to begin soon, adding that the Biden administration looks forward to the effort.