The operator of an underground nuclear waste repository in New Mexico, where a major radiation leak happened, was found to be rewarded with a huge bonus for "excellent" performance just a few days after a fire, U.S. media disclosed Sunday.
Nuclear Waste Partnership, the contractor of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad in southeastern New Mexico, received a 1.9 million dollars bonus from the U.S. Department of Energy five days after a truck fire closed the facility, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
A radiation leak followed right after the truck fire in February, which has contaminated 22 workers and kept the repository shuttered till now.
Several preliminary investigations have already found the operator at fault. An initial probe by the Energy Department blamed poor management, ineffective maintenance and a lack of proper training and oversight for the leak.
Officials said, if the final investigation determined Nuclear Waste Partnership failed to protect the public and workers at WIPP, the company's lucrative contract could be jeopardized.
Nuclear Waste Partnership has been operating WIPP on a base contract of 109 million dollars annually since 2012. Bonuses and incentives have elevated the contractor's compensation closer to 130 million dollars per year.
It is not yet clear what exactly caused the leak. There seemed to be no direct link between the truck fire and the leak. Investigators suspect it might have resulted from a chemical reaction inside at least one of the waste containers stored at WIPP. The chemical reaction was believed to be caused by a kind of kitty litter, mixed in the waste to absorb moisture.
Officials have been tight-lipped about the anticipated cost of rehabilitating WIPP following the radiation leak. Earlier, they said it could take the Federal government two years or more to seal off the underground rooms where several hundred waste containers are stored. And a full resumption of operations could take up to three years.
The underground dump stores transuranic waste leftover from nuclear weapons research and testing from the nation's past defense activities. The waste includes clothing, tools, rags and other debris contaminated with radioactive elements, largely plutonium.