January 2, 2010

Salt from nuclear waste plant to be used in US cattle feed

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.

A nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad, New Mexico, US, is supplying 300,000 tonnes of salt to go into cattle feed. The salt will be excavated from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

The Department of Energy (DOE) reached an agreement to sell the salt to Magnum Minerals for US$600,000.

It is the first such sale from WIPP, which eventually will have to get rid of the salt that was 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.