WIPP incident- NM fines Feds $54M over Los Alamos waste, more than 20 were contaminated

Notice they now admit more than 20 workers were contaminated. Also, why do you think Los Alamos would not notify? What could be gained from this...think wind patterns.

"focus has been on a canister of waste from Los Alamos that ruptured in one of WIPP’s storage rooms in February. More than 20 workers were contaminated and the facility was forced to close, putting in jeopardy efforts around the country to clean up tons of Cold War-era waste.

The state accuses Los Alamos of mixing incompatible waste, treating hazardous waste without a permit and failing to notify regulators about changes in the way waste was being handled. The penalties for the lab total $36.6 million...

While investigators have yet to pinpoint exactly what caused the barrel to breach, they suspect a chemical reaction in highly acidic waste that was packed with organic cat litter to absorb moisture. According to the state, experts had notified the lab to stop using organic materials as early as 2012 because of the possible dangers of mixing them with nitrates salts."

[link to www.theblaze.com]