nuclear-news

US Energy Dept fined $54 Million by New Mexico, for Nuclear Accidents

New Mexico Fines U.S. $54 Million for Nuclear Accidents http://www.wsj.com/articles/new-mexico-fines-u-s-54-million-for-nuclear-accidents-1417898258 Underground Fire, Radiation Leak at Repository Exposed Workers to Contamination By DAN FROSCH Dec. 6, 2014 SANTA FE, N.M.—New Mexico has fined the U.S. Energy Department more than $54 million over accidents at the country’s only underground repository for nuclear waste.

The fines, which state officials announced Saturday morning, stem from an underground fire and a radiation leak earlier this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, known as WIPP. Nearly two dozen workers were exposed to contamination at the plant, which handles radioactive waste from the nation’s nuclear-weapons program.

The facility, in southeastern New Mexico near Carlsbad, remains closed.

The fines represent the largest penalties New Mexico has ever levied against the Energy Department, state officials said, noting that their investigation found major procedural problems.

The Energy Department committed 37 violations of state regulations in its handling of radioactive waste, the state said. Drums of the waste were improperly treated and stored at Los Alamos National Laboratory before being shipped to the nuclear repository, according to the state, contributing to the accidents last February. A federal report issued earlier this year traced the radiological accident at WIPP to a drum of waste that contained a mix of material that didn’t meet the facility’s standards for storage. The Energy Department has said it could cost more than $500 million to return WIPP to full operations.

Energy Department officials couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

New Mexico has fined the Energy Department in past years over state violations at Los Alamos and WIPP, according to Don Hancock, director of the nuclear-waste program at the Southwest Research and Information Center, an Albuquerque watchdog group.

Other states, such as Washington and Idaho, have also sued and fined the Energy Department over its handling of nuclear waste, Mr. Hancock said.

Write to Dan Frosch at dan.frosch@wsj.com

December 8, 2014 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | politics, USA