ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — An area at the U.S. government’s nuclear waste repository in southeastern New Mexico was evacuated over the weekend after workers handling a shipping container discovered a small amount of radioactive liquid inside it.
Officials say there was no indication of airborne contamination and that testing of workers’ hands and feet turned up no contamination. It wasn't immediately clear where the liquid came from but officials did confirm that the shipment came from Idaho National Laboratory. The repository receives shipments from federal labs and defense-related sites around the country.
The waste typically consists of lab coats, gloves, tools and debris contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive elements.