CARLSBAD, N.M. (AP) – A final report by independent researchers shows the radiological release from the federal government’s underground nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico was low and localized.
The report released Thursday by the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center also says no negative health effects are expected among workers or the public.
The research center is associated with New Mexico State University.
Its technicians have been collecting samples since February, when a container of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory ruptured after being placed in a storage room at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
Sampling stations at and near WIPP confirmed the presence of trace amounts of americium and plutonium.
The release forced the indefinite closure of WIPP. Federal officials have said it could take years and a half-billion dollars to restart operations.
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