SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Officials at a New Mexico laboratory halted all shipments of hazardous and mixed low-level radioactive waste for nearly three months after realizing they transported mislabeled refuse to a facility near Denver.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the labeling incident, which apparently happened in November, was the third time in 13 months Los Alamos National Laboratory shipped waste to the Henderson, Colorado, facility, Veolia ES Technical Solutions, with incorrect information about the chemicals inside.
It also set into motion a series of events that could cause the lab to incur up to $1 million in state penalties.
Under state regulations, a violation can result in as much as a $10,000-a-day fine. The five containers were in violation of the permit for at least 20 days.
The lab paused shipments between Dec. 18 and Feb. 28.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, http://www.santafenewmexican.com
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