Skip to main content

New Mexico orders nuclear waste dump to hasten safety measures

A nuclear waste repository in New class="mandelbrot_refrag">Mexico was ordered by the state on Tuesday to craft a plan to hasten the sealing off of underground vaults where drums of toxic, plutonium-tainted refuse from Los Alamos National Laboratory may have caused a radiation release.

The directive by state Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn said the drums, buried half a mile below ground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near the town of Carlsbad, "may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment".

The repository, the only facility of its kind in the United States, has been shut since Feb. 14, when unsafe radiation levels were detected there.

The leak of radiation, a small amount of which escaped to the surface and exposed 22 workers at the plant, ranks as the facility's worst accident and one of the few blemishes on its safety record since it opened in 1999.

Flynn ordered managers of the U.S. Energy Department facility to submit schedules by May 30 for the "expedited" closure of two disposal chambers that collectively contain 368 containers of improperly packaged waste from Los Alamos.

Plant operators believe nitrate salts and organic kitty litter used to absorb liquids in drums of hazardous debris from Los Alamos caused a chemical reaction that breached the waste containers and released radiation from them.

Flynn on Monday ordered Los Alamos, 300 miles across the state northwest of Santa Fe, to submit a plan by Wednesday afternoon spelling out how it would isolate 57 similar drums still at the lab complex to lessen safety hazards there.

Los Alamos has placed drums with the same mix of nitrate salts and kitty litter in a special protective dome and is monitoring them for any rise in temperature after subjecting them to additional packaging, lab officials said in an email to Reuters on Tuesday.

Another 25 drums with the same materials were shipped between April 1 and May 1 to a commercial nuclear waste facility in Texas for temporary storage. 

(Reporting by Laura Zuckerman from Salmon, Idaho; Editing by Steve Gorman and Richard Borsuk)

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o