  As quantum coherence times of superconducting circuits have increased from
nanoseconds to hundreds of microseconds, they are currently one of the leading
platforms for quantum information processing. However, coherence needs to
further improve by orders of magnitude to reduce the prohibitive hardware
overhead of current error correction schemes. Reaching this goal hinges on
reducing the density of broken Cooper pairs, so-called quasiparticles. Here, we
show that environmental radioactivity is a significant source of nonequilibrium
quasiparticles. Moreover, ionizing radiation introduces time-correlated
quasiparticle bursts in resonators on the same chip, further complicating
quantum error correction. Operating in a deep-underground lead-shielded
cryostat decreases the quasiparticle burst rate by a factor fifty and reduces
dissipation up to a factor four, showcasing the importance of radiation
abatement in future solid-state quantum hardware.
