© 2024 KRWG
News that Matters.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

New Mexico demands more of US when addressing nuclear waste

Nuclear waste
/
Los Alamos National Labs

  ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The U.S. Energy Department has rolled out its 2021 priorities for cleaning up tons of toxic waste left behind by decades of bomb-making and nuclear research around the country. Included is a goal of sending 30 shipments from the birthplace of the atomic bomb — Los Alamos National Laboratory — to the federal government’s underground waste repository. But some elected officials and watchdog groups say the list is another indication that New Mexico is on the back burner when it comes to cleaning up legacy waste. They also are raising concerns that new waste generated by the lab will need to be cleaned up and could further sideline decontamination efforts.