The government announced Monday that the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge had completed the disposal of 2,247 containers of so-called mixed waste - containing both radioactive materials and hazardous chemicals - more than two years ahead of schedule.
The federal plant was required to get rid of the stored wastes by September 2018 under terms of a commissioner's order from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. The mandate is part of an agreed-upon Site Treatment Plan for dealing with legacy wastes generated decades ago by facilities on the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge reservation.
According to the announcement by the National Nuclear Security Administration, most of the wastes were shipped to EnergySolutions' disposal facility near Clive, Utah. The other containers were sent to the Nevada National Security Site for burial.
View more at our news partner's website, knoxnews.com.