Nuclear Dump’s Opening Delayed

The opening of a controversial nuclear waste storage site near Carlsbad has been postponed because shipments might contain small amounts of other toxic agents. The underground Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, which will accept plutonium-contaminated waste from the nation’s temporary storage facilities, was scheduled to receive its first shipment from the Los Alamos National Laboratory nuclear facility on Friday. But New Mexico’s environment department said the federal Department of Energy failed to prove the waste was not tainted with other solvents or toxic chemicals regulated by the state. Officials said approval could take at least another six months.