Carlsbad: The US Department of Energy says it has appointed a team to investigate the detection of radiation in and near a southeastern New Mexico facility that`s the nation`s only underground nuclear waste repository.
The department says the assessment of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant will be conducted by an accident investigation board consisting of department officials and representatives of health and safety agencies.
An underground monitor at the plant detected airborne radiation late Friday night, and an independent monitor center said yesterday it found radioactive isotopes in an air sensor 800 meters away.
Russell Hardy of the Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center says the detected levels are highest ever detected at or around the site but also far below those deemed unsafe by the Environmental Protection Agency.
