Workers at the nation's only underground nuclear waste repository have begun using a new disposal area.
The first containers of waste to be entombed in the new area came from Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, according to officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.
The new area is called Panel 8 and consists of seven separate rooms for placing special boxes and barrels contaminated with plutonium and other radioactive elements.
The rooms run the length of a football field minus the end zones and are wide and high.
The first shipment was received in 1999 and was carved out of an ancient salt formation. The idea is that the radioactive waste left from bomb-making and nuclear weapons research will eventually be buried.
A fire and separate radiation release forced a nearly three-year closure of the repository and a costly redesign of the policies and procedures that govern it.
The reopening of the repository caused operations to be reduced because areas of the facility were contaminated. State regulators are considering a permit change that could lead to expanded operations, as a multimillion-dollar project is underway to install a new Ventilation System.
The public has the opportunity to comment on modifications or permit renewal applications according to a plan issued by the state Environment Department's hazardous waste bureau.
The contractor that manages the repository said in a statement that operations have become more efficient with the new panel.
It takes about 2 1/2 years to fill a panel with waste after it's been created. Panel 7 is filled with over 20,000 containers and most of them are 55 gallon drums.
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