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Summary Wildfire threatens the nuclear Lab where 20,000 barrels of plutonium-contaminated waste are stored.
New Mexico fire managers scrambled to reinforce ground crews battling for a third day against a fierce blaze roaring out of control at the edge of one of the United States top nuclear weapons production centres.The fires leading edge reached within a few miles of a dump site where some 20,000 barrels of plutonium-contaminated waste like clothing and equipment is stored on the grounds of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, fire officials said.Officials for the government-run lab said the stored waste is considered low-level radioactive material and remains a safe distance from the fire in an area cleared of trees and other vegetation.The fire broke out on Sunday and had burnt some 61,000 acres of forest and threatened the Los Alamos National Laboratory.The Nuclear Watch New Mexico said on its website that its greatest concern was for the 20,000 barrel sealed drums of plutonium-tainted waste stored at one corner of the complex, some stacked in the open on asphalt, some in tents, some buried underground.Fire officials say if the blaze did manage to reach the area, they would use fire-retardant foam to douse the flames.
