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The federally-owned Waste Isolation Pilot Project, located in southeastern New Mexico, has been closed to underground waste dumping since early February as a result of a series of accidents, including an airborne radiation leak that contaminated at least 13 workers.
Under New Mexico state law, nuclear waste can only be held in the parking area for a maximum of 30 days and in the handling building for a maximum of 60 days. However, state authorities are extending the maximum allowable time.
WIPP is the bedrock of the U.S. government's current approach to dispose of military-generated plutonium-contaminated transuranic waste from decades of nuclear bomb production and testing. Since it became operational in 1999, WIPP has collected this waste from across the United States, including Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico.
The closure has left nuclear waste headed for WIPP stranded, including waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory -- which conducts nuclear weapons research -- which iscurrently being held in an outside dome in the city of Los Alamos.
The Department of Energy and Nuclear Waste Partnership, the contractor that runs the dump, still do not know what caused the radiation leak.
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
The federally-owned Waste Isolation Pilot Project, located in southeastern New Mexico, has been closed to underground waste dumping since early February as a result of a series of accidents, including an airborne radiation leak that contaminated at least 13 workers.
Under New Mexico state law, nuclear waste can only be held in the parking area for a maximum of 30 days and in the handling building for a maximum of 60 days. However, state authorities are extending the maximum allowable time.
WIPP is the bedrock of the U.S. government's current approach to dispose of military-generated plutonium-contaminated transuranic waste from decades of nuclear bomb production and testing. Since it became operational in 1999, WIPP has collected this waste from across the United States, including Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico.
The closure has left nuclear waste headed for WIPP stranded, including waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory -- which conducts nuclear weapons research -- which iscurrently being held in an outside dome in the city of Los Alamos.
The Department of Energy and Nuclear Waste Partnership, the contractor that runs the dump, still do not know what caused the radiation leak.
The federally-owned Waste Isolation Pilot Project, located in southeastern New Mexico, has been closed to underground waste dumping since early February as a result of a series of accidents, including an airborne radiation leak that contaminated at least 13 workers.
Under New Mexico state law, nuclear waste can only be held in the parking area for a maximum of 30 days and in the handling building for a maximum of 60 days. However, state authorities are extending the maximum allowable time.
WIPP is the bedrock of the U.S. government's current approach to dispose of military-generated plutonium-contaminated transuranic waste from decades of nuclear bomb production and testing. Since it became operational in 1999, WIPP has collected this waste from across the United States, including Los Alamos National Laboratory in northern New Mexico.
The closure has left nuclear waste headed for WIPP stranded, including waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory -- which conducts nuclear weapons research -- which iscurrently being held in an outside dome in the city of Los Alamos.
The Department of Energy and Nuclear Waste Partnership, the contractor that runs the dump, still do not know what caused the radiation leak.