Sandia National Laboratories’ (“Sandia”) Five-Year Review proposes that planning and implementation for excavation and offsite disposal of radioactive and toxic chemical wastes in the Mixed Waste Landfill (MWL) is feasible and that if directed to undertake excavation of the site, the best remedy for the waste is offsite storage. See Five-Year Review Section 5.4. The New Mexico Environmental Law Center believes that, given Sandia’s conclusion, it is in the best long-term interests of assuring public and occupational health and safety that the Environment Department issue an Order directing Sandia to immediately begin such planning. One reason for this step is that the Environment Department’s 2016 Final Order specified that the existing dirt cover “may not be the most appropriate long-term solution for the site.”
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