All WIPP employees will help in cleanup of nuclear site

Dept. of Energy approves recovery plan for site of nuclear waste repository

By Jonathan Smith, Current Argus News

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s 652 employees are headed back to work.

Federal officials announced Tuesday that all WIPP employees will assist in the plant’s recovery effort, putting the plant’s workforce back to work soon. Operations at the nuclear waste repository 26 miles east of Carlsbad were suspended after a underground truck fire and radiation leak were reported in separate incidents that occurred 9 days apart.

Officials say they expect to send a person down the mine to assess the situation at the end of this week, followed later by specially trained crews to begin the cleanup and recovery … more