Radioactive soil shipments from Brookhaven National Laboratory might soon resume under an agreement between New York City and the Long Island Rail Road.
The railroad halted the shipments -- part of a years-long cleanup effort at the lab -- on June 23, citing an agreement requiring New York City's Queens borough president's permission before shipping hazardous waste, Newsday reported Tuesday.
As a result, at least 60 cars filled with radioactive waste have been stopped on tracks at the laboratory while officials awaited permission to resume shipping.
Under the terms of the agreement, the shipments can resume after the LIRR formally notifies New York City's Office of Emergency Management of the action, Jarrod Bernstein, a spokesman for the emergency management agency, told Newsday.
He said once his agency gets the go-ahead, it will notify police, transit and fire officials and other emergency agencies. Bernstein said the shipments would probably resume this week.
Brookhaven, a major U.S. research center, is a joint venture of Battelle Memorial Institute and Stony Brook University.
Copyright 2005 by United Press International
