Waste shipment from Calif. completed at Carlsbad
Posted at: 09/21/2009 2:02 PM
By: The Associated Press
CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) - The first shipment of nuclear waste byproduct has been delivered to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the southeastern corner of New Mexico.
The Department of Energy said the shipment arrived safely early Friday morning.
The DOE estimates that about 30-40 shipments will be sent from a facility in California to WIPP.
The waste is a byproduct of the nation's nuclear defense program. It consists of tools, rags, protective clothing, sludge, soil and other materials contaminated with radioactive elements that have atomic numbers greater than uranium.
The material arrives by truck in lead-lined casks certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
At WIPP, the waste is permanently disposed in rooms mined out of an ancient salt formation.
WIPP is located 26 miles outside of Carlsbad.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
|
 |
Print Story |
