Carlsbad site could be used for plutonium disposal

A U.S. Department of Energy report indicates that a site in southern New Mexico may be used to dispose of plutonium from surplus nuclear weapons.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reports (http://bit.ly/1FdQaQL ) that the report says the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad could be a lower cost alternative to a federal program that would convert weapons-grade plutonium into commercial nuclear fuel.

That program is called the mixed oxide nuclear program or MOX.

A spending bill passed by Congress in December required the DOE to review the costs of plutonium disposal.

The Union of Concerned Scientists and the International Panel on Fissile Material issued statements last month urging the DOE to cancel MOX.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been closed since February 2014 after a salt truck fire and radiological release.