Articles by Ralph Vartabedian
We found 4 results.
Nuclear Accident in New Mexico Ranks among the Costliest in U.S. History
Ralph Vartabedian – Los Angeles Times,
29 Aug 2016
22 Aug 2016 – When a drum containing radioactive waste blew up in an underground nuclear dump in New Mexico two years ago, the Energy Department rushed to quell concerns in the Carlsbad desert community and quickly reported progress on resuming operations. But the explosion ranks among the costliest nuclear accidents in U.S. history, according to a Times analysis. The long-term cost of the mishap could top $2 billion, an amount roughly in the range of the cleanup after the 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania.
→ read full articleHanford Nuclear Weapons Site Whistle-blower Wins $4.1-Million Settlement
Ralph Vartabedian – Los Angeles Times,
7 Sep 2015
When Walter Tamosaitis warned in 2011 that the Energy Department’s plans for a waste treatment plant were unsafe, he was demoted. Tamosaitis had been leading a team of 100 scientists and engineers in designing a way to immobilize millions of gallons of highly toxic nuclear sludge as thick as peanut butter.
→ read full articleCause of New Mexico Nuclear Waste Accident Remains a Mystery
Ralph Vartabedian – Los Angeles Times,
1 Sep 2014
23 Aug 2014 – A 55-gallon drum of nuclear waste, buried in a salt shaft 2,150 feet under the New Mexico desert, violently erupted late on Feb. 14 and spewed mounds of radioactive white foam contaminating the nation’s only dump for nuclear weapons waste — and gave the nation’s elite ranks of nuclear chemists a mystery they still cannot unravel.
→ read full articleU.S. Holding 324 Metric Tons of Bomb-Grade Uranium, Report Says
Ralph Vartabedian – Los Angeles Times,
20 Sep 2010
The Obama administration, which is urging other nations to reduce their stores of the material, should declare part of the U.S. inventory surplus, a watchdog group says.
→ read full article