Researchers have detected elevated levels of iodine‑129—a long‑lived radioactive isotope and indicator of past nuclear activity—in waters west of the Philippines. The team believes the material originated from a mix of sources, from China to as far away as Eastern Europe, before being deposited in the Yellow Sea basin and drifting south. Newsweek contacted the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute for comment outside office hours. While iodine‑129 occurs naturally, the vast majority of what is