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DOE Partners With New Mexico Agency On Waste Transportation

facebook.com/energygov

The U.S. Energy Department's Carlsbad Field Office is partnering with the state of New Mexico to coordinate activities that will ensure the safe transport of radioactive waste to the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository.

The five-year cooperative agreement awarded to the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department is worth $6.8 million.

Officials say the focus will include monitoring activities, emergency response training and planning and public awareness.

Federal officials have said the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad is expected to resume limited operations before the end of the year.

The repository was closed in February 2014 following a radiation leak caused by a container of waste that had been inappropriately packed at Los Alamos National Laboratory. The incident stalled waste shipments from defense-related sites around the country.

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