Nuclear repository working to address post-start findings

CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) – The U.S. Energy Department expects the remaining corrective actions needed at the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository to be completed early this year.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant resumed some operations at the end of December following a final inspection by a team of agency inspectors. They identified a total of 36 findings, most of which were addressed before the plant reopened.

A 2014 radiation release in one of the underground storage vaults had forced the facility to close.

Of the remaining findings to be addressed as operations ramp up, the Carlsbad Current-Argus reports (http://bit.ly/2jmMOD1) 10 have yet to be corrected.

The Energy Department’s Carlsbad Field Office is working to obtain more spare parts for the interim ventilation system, provide training to certain employees and hire additional personnel.

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Information from: Carlsbad Current-Argus, http://www.currentargus.com/

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