Concerns persist about pace of cleanup at US nuclear lab

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Officials at one of the nation’s top nuclear weapons laboratories are reiterating their promise to focus on cleaning up Cold War-era contamination left by decades of research and bomb-making. But New Mexico environment officials and watchdog groups remain concerned about the pace and the likelihood that the federal government has significantly understated its environmental liability at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The U.S. Department of Energy has said it will be 2036 before cleanup is complete. Federal officials acknowledged during a meeting Thursday night that they are reviewing whether new risks will boost the need for more funding and more time.