The world has only one working deep geologic repository for nuclear waste — and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is trying to close down the 90,000-square-foot building in Carlsbad, New Mexico, where workers are tasked with directly managing the radioactive site.
Two sources confirmed to NOTUS that the General Services Administration is trying to end the government’s lease for the Skeen-Whitlock Building in Carlsbad, where at least 200 people work to supervise highly radioactive waste from the U.S.’s nuclear defense activities.
“DOE-Carlsbad Office” is listed among hundreds of government leases DOGE says have been canceled, according to its website. DOGE does not specify the program or specific building, though it has listed the Department of Energy’s Carlsbad office as costing $810,599 per year.