August 22, 2016
Drums of nuclear waste in a salt shaft at New Mexico's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Ralph Vartabedian
When a drum containing radioactive waste blew up in an underground nuclear dump in New Mexico two years ago, the Energy Department rushed to quell concerns in the Carlsbad desert community and quickly reported progress on resuming operations.
The early federal statements gave no hint that the blast had caused (...)