AASHTO Journal, 5 February 2016
The New Mexico Department of Transportation will receive $34 million to repair some state roads, after the state and the U.S. Department of Energy finalized $74 million in settlement agreements related to a February 2014 leak of radioactive material.
It reportedly involved a drum of radioactive waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory that ruptured at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, and contaminated nearly two dozen workers.
The settlements are to resolve state complaints that the DOE and its contractors had violated nuclear waste permits. The initial agreements were announced last April 30, but it has taken until now to complete them.
Under the accords, the DOE provides funds for a set of supplemental environmental projects in both the Carlsbad and Los Alamos communities, plus improvements to New Mexico’s roads, water infrastructure, and emergency response system.
Gov. Susana Martinez said: “The funds New Mexico will receive through this agreement will help ensure the future safety and success of these facilities, the people who work at them, and their local communities.”
U.S. Energy Secretary Energy Ernest Moniz said that “the projects we are funding as part of this settlement are important investments in the health and safety of New Mexicans who work at or live nearby DOE facilities, and will enhance our operations.”
The state DOT will use the $34 million to repair roads used for hauling the transuranic waste to WIPP in the state’s southeastern section. The first project will repair the WIPP North Access Road, about a 13-mile section between Highway 62-180 and the WIPP site.
Of the other funds, up to $12 million will be used to improve DOE-owned transportation routes at Los Alamos that are used to ship the transuranic waste to WIPP.
Other projects include replacing aging potable water lines and install metering equipment at Los Alamos, and make storm water improvements.