Inspection schedules remain in flux at the Department of Energy's New Mexico waste repository after workers last week entered the mine for the first time since a Feb. 14 radiation alarm.
The DOE reported Monday that the Environmental Protection Agency will install additional equipment at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant this week to verify the site's radiation monitoring. Meanwhile, site contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership is reviewing its schedule for reentering the repository's waste disposal area as it reevaluates procedural and personal protective equipment requirements. A date for the re-entry was not announced.
Earlier, the site confirmed that the air intake and salt shafts were not contaminated. On Wednesday, two teams entered the mine and set up a base of operations. The repository remains closed to shipments, and Waste Control Specialists in Andrews, Texas, received five shipments for temporary storage last week. The private facility helped the DOE meet a deadline to remove waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory.