Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2012 --- 11:00 a.m.
GENOA, Wis. (AP) -- A project to remove decades-old radioactive waste from a western Wisconsin power plant is finally under way, a massive undertaking that has taken five years just to plan.
The Dairyland Power Cooperative shut down its La Crosse Boiling Water Reactor in Genoa about 25 years ago. The plant maintained the radioactive waste in "wet storage," an expensive process that requires clean water along with electrical and mechanical systems.
Plant officials wanted to move the waste into dry storage, meaning it just gets sealed away in huge tanks.
A La Crosse Tribune report says the project finally began last week. It's expected to continue throughout the summer and could cost up to $45 million.
Workers are hauling the waste to a concrete pad between Highway 35 and the Mississippi River.
Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.
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