A nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico is facing more delays in the effort to repair a radiation leak. Officials estimate the work could take until 2018 to complete.
What’s known as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is the nation’s only below-ground repository for Cold War-era nuclear waste. The facility has been shut down since last February after a radiation leak was detected.
Officials expect limited operations at WIPP to resume sometime in 2016. A new ventilation system and exhaust shaft must be installed before shipments of waste can be accepted again at the plant at full capacity.
Managers have already missed a New Year’s Day deadline for closure of a storage bunker affected by the radiation leak. It could be April before that happens, since more surveys and safety precautions must be taken.
In a statement, Department of Energy officials say adjustments to the repair reschedule should be expected.
