The National Nuclear Security Administration, which called the error “absolutely unacceptable,” is investigating the shipment of nuclear materials by commercial air cargo from the LANL, a clear violation of federal regulations, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican.
In a statement released on Friday, the federal regulators’ said the lab had mislabeled shipments of “special nuclear materials” — a term used for radioactive, weapons-grade plutonium and uranium — that were headed last week to the Savannah River National Laboratory in South Carolina and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California.
The two packages were labeled for ground cargo transport but were shipped by air, “a mode of transportation not authorized by Federal regulations,” according to the statement. The error was due to the way the shipping documents were prepared at the nuclear lab, reports the Aiken Standard.
Tests done on the shipments once they arrived at their destinations confirmed there had been no contamination or any loss of the nuclear material, but the incident once again brings public attention to the lax safety procedures going on within the national laboratory.
Once the investigation is completed, the agency said the parties involved in this latest lapse in safety protocols will be held responsible. Los Alamos officials declined to comment on the incident, referring ABC News to the National Nuclear Safety Administration.
On June 21, Digital Journal reported on the year-long investigation that shed light on the numerous safety lapses that have occurred at the Los Alamos laboratory while handling radioactive waste and plutonium.
