Dept. of Energy Wants INL Cleanup Extension

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) — The U.S. Department of Energy has asked Idaho officials for an extension of one year on deadlines involving cleanup of high-level radioactive waste at the Idaho National Laboratory in eastern Idaho. The Post Register reports in a story published Wednesday that the federal agency failed to meet a September deadline to begin treating the waste at the Integrated Waste Treatment Unit, and a Dec. 31 deadline to submit a schedule for processing the waste. The 900,000 gallons of waste came from processing spent nuclear fuel from U.S. Navy ships. Plans call for converting the waste into a solid form and removing it from the INL. The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is taking public comments on the request for the extension.