Salt From Nuclear Waste Plant For Cattle Feed
US - Thousands of tonnes of salt excavated from the US Department of Energy's underground nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico are destined for cattle feed in Texas.
31 December 2009
1 minute read
A nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad, New Mexico, USA is supplying thousands of tonnes of salt to go into cattle feed. The 300,000 tonnes of salt will be excavated from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), reports AllAboutFeed.
The Department of Energy (DOE) reached an agreement to sell the salt to Magnum Minerals for $600,000.
It's the first such sale from WIPP, which eventually will have to get rid of the salt that's excavated for waste disposal rooms. WIPP, which opened in March 1999, has an expected 35-year lifespan.
Rooms to store waste will continue to be excavated as needed in the ancient salt beds 700 metres below the New Mexico desert.
WIPP eventually is expected to receive about 38,000 shipments from DOE sites around the country.
WIPP buries defence-related waste such as protective clothing and tools, largely contaminated with plutonium, which remains radioactive for tens of thousands of years.
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