There would be no significant environmental impact from keeping long-stranded transuranic waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory at Waste Control Specialists’ disposal facility in Texas for another two years, the There Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday.
The commission published its formal finding of no significant impact in the Federal Register about five months after Waste Control Specialists (WCS), Andrews, Texas, asked the commission for the review.
The Department of Energy in 2023 said it plans to move the waste, stranded at WCS since 2014, out of the company’s federal facility by the end of 2026. New Mexico this year asked DOE to share more information about the federal agency’s plans.
In the meantime, WCS has a waiver from the commission that allows it to store the federally owned transuranic waste.
The 74 containers of waste at WCS’ federal facility are similar in character to a barrel that exploded underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in 2014. The Department of Energy plans to clean up the waste at WCS, in a new above-ground facility.
