A top U.S. Energy Department official in southern New Mexico says the agency plans to close off part of the federal government's underground nuclear waste repository due to contamination and stability concerns.
Carlsbad Field Office manager Todd Shrader said during a public meeting Thursday that officials are considering plans to close the south end of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in phases.
He says barriers would be built to seal off the area from other parts of the underground complex, eliminating about 60 percent of the areas that were contaminated by a February 2014 radiation release.
Three ceiling collapses have also been reported in the south end in recent weeks, prompting concerns about worker safety and the ability of the plant to reopen before the end of the year.
Shrader acknowledged that the closure plan would eliminate some of the space that could have been used in the future for more waste storage rooms.