New Mexico nuclear waste site evacuated
CARLSBAD, N.M. – An incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear waste repository near Carlsbad led to the evacuation of workers Saturday night from an area of the facility where waste is prepared for disposal.
The incident was reported at about 8:20 p.m. MDT in the waste handling building, where shipments of nuclear waste are prepared for disposal in the underground repository.
Officials said there was no risk of a radiological release after the event was investigated.
As a drum of waste was being processed, liquid was found at the bottom of the container which tested positive for radioactive contamination, per a news release from WIPP officials.
All personnel in the area were evacuated and tested for contamination, and operations were temporarily paused.
No radioactive contamination was found on any person or in the air as of 10 p.m., per the news release.
Workers were not in the underground at the time of the incident, the release read.
No radiation was released from the site, and there was no risk to the public, read the news release.
WIPP’s Emergency Operations Center and Joint Information Center were activated at the Skeen-Whitlock building in Carlsbad to respond to the incident that occurred at the facility east of Carlsbad near the border of Eddy and Lea counties. The emergency protocols were deactivated at 11 p.m., per an update from WIPP officials.
“There is no risk of radiological release and there is no risk to the public or the environment,” the release read.
“The activation occurred as a result of an abnormal event during routine waste handling at the WIPP site, located 26 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico,” the release said.
The public was encouraged to follow WIPP on Twitter or Facebook for updates as the incident is investigated.
Waste handling activities at WIPP involve moving nuclear waste into the facility and transporting it about 2,000 feet underground for permanent disposal in an underground salt deposit.