Cleanup of US nuclear waste takes back seat as virus spreads

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The U.S. government’s efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment. Now, fallout from the global coronavirus

1 / 4Virus Outbreak Nuclear WasteFILE - In this March 1999 file photo, the first load of nuclear waste arrives at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant site in Carlsbad, N.M., from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The U.S. government's efforts to clean up decades worth of Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has chugged along, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment.

Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant warned state regulators in a letter Tuesday that more time would be needed for inspections and audits and that work would be curtailed or shifts would be staggered to ensure workers keep their distance from one another. It’s the same at Los Alamos National Laboratory, the once-secret city in northern New Mexico that gained famed for being the birthplace of the atomic bomb. Most employees there are working remotely, and the summer intern program is on pause.

The number of employees on site has dwindled to the “absolute minimum” needed to run safety and security programs and keep IT systems humming for those working at home.They've indicated in letters, online posts and other documents that their decisions are guided by state and federal public health orders aimed at getting people to stay home and limit contact with others to stem the growing number of cases and deaths related to COVID-19.

Democratic senators had voiced concerns just weeks ago that the Trump administration's proposed budget for the U.S. Energy Department calls for less money to clean up the Cold War-era waste while funneling significantly more to fund modernization of the nation's nuclear arsenal.

 

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This happens when priorities are placed on destruction than human capital.

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