(Page 1) The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management plans to relocate some transuranic waste from the Nevada National Security Site to the Idaho
- Associated Press
U.S. officials are pushing state regulators to clear the way for a new ventilation shaft to be built at the federal government s nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico, but watchdog groups say modifying the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant s permit to allow for the construction could open the door to expansion.
The state Environment Department s Hazardous Waste Bureau held a virtual hearing over the past week to gather comments on the proposed permit change. A final decision is anticipated in mid-October.
Ventilation has been an issue since 2014, when a radiation release contaminated parts of the underground facility and forced an expensive, nearly three-year closure, delayed the federal government s cleanup program and prompted policy changes at national laboratories and defense-related sites across the U.S.