According to reports, the discovery came after the plant's operators had repeatedly denied that anybody was exposed to the radiation, calling into question the integrity of these and other claims.

The Associated Press recently covered the leak, which is said to have occurred at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project (WIPP) in Loving, New Mexico, located some 26 miles southeast of Carlsbad, on February 14. When radiation detectors at the facility went off late that day, no employees were underground, claimed the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), and everyone who was present above ground was also tested for contamination.