Watchdog has concerns with projects at US nuclear repository

By SUSAN MONTOYA BRYAN
Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — There’s no way of knowing if cost increases and missed construction deadlines will continue at the nation’s only underground nuclear waste repository. That’s according to a report made public Tuesday by Government Accountability Office. The reports says the U.S. Energy Department is not required to develop a corrective action plan for addressing the root causes of challenges at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in southern New Mexico. A multimillion-dollar project is underway at the underground facility to build a new ventilation system so full operations can resume. The Energy Department had blamed significant cost overruns and delays on the contractor’s inexperience and difficulties in attracting workers.