Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Before government types and contractors around the Department of Energy complex clear out for the winter holidays, many still have items to check off their 2024 to-do lists. Here are a few: Dec. 19: Is the deadline for responses to an Office of Environmental Management request for information on Deactivation and Remediation work at the […]

As of Dec. 8, the New Mexico Environment Department has 37 pages of emails with comments on the Department of Energy’s plan to define legacy transuranic waste for disposal at DOE’s deep underground disposal site near Carlsbad, N.M. Dec. 8 is roughly mid-way in the public comment period that runs through Jan. 3, on DOE’s […]

As of Dec. 1, the New Mexico Environment Department has 27 pages of emails with comments on the Department of Energy’s plan to define legacy transuranic waste for disposal at DOE’s deep underground disposal site near Carlsbad, N.M. Most early comments are from individuals, not organizations, but follow a similar theme. Some commenters say the […]

As of Dec. 1, the New Mexico Environment Department has 27 pages of emails with comments on the Department of Energy’s plan to define legacy transuranic waste for disposal at DOE’s deep underground disposal site near Carlsbad, N.M. Dec. 1 is nearly the mid-way point in the public comment period that runs through Jan. 3, […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this month gave the formal go-ahead for stranded transuranic waste from the Los Alamos Laboratory to remain in commercial storage for another two years. NRC cleared Waste Control Specialists to hold on to the waste until Dec. 31, 2026, according to a letter dated Nov. 22 and posted online by the commission […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission this month gave the formal go-ahead for stranded transuranic waste from the Los Alamos Laboratory to remain in commercial storage for another two years. NRC cleared Waste Control Specialists to hold on to the waste until Dec. 31, 2026, according to a letter dated Nov. 22 and posted online by the […]

More than half of the transuranic waste shipments hauled away from the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in fiscal 2024 came from plutonium downblending, a DOE spokesperson said last week. In response to an inquiry from Exchange Monitor, the spokesperson said via email that 35 of the 59 transuranic waste shipments sent to DOE’s  […]

More than half of the transuranic waste shipments hauled away from the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site in fiscal 2024 came from plutonium downblending, a DOE spokesperson said last week. In response to an inquiry from Exchange Monitor, the spokesperson said via email that 35 of the 59 transuranic waste shipments sent to DOE’s  […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 29 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during October, according to figures posted on the facility’s public website. There were 24 shipments from the Idaho National Laboratory, four from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and one from the Los Alamos National Laboratory […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 29 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during October, according to figures posted on the facility’s public website. There were 24 shipments from the Idaho National Laboratory, four from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and one from the Los Alamos National Laboratory […]

By spring, the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico expect to complete overhauling an underground staging area for lifting mined salt to the surface, DOE said Tuesday. “The team is in the process of safely demolishing the old structural steel and will begin work on […]

By spring, the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico expect to complete overhauling an underground staging area for lifting mined salt to the surface, DOE said Tuesday. “The team is in the process of safely demolishing the old structural steel and will begin work on […]

The Department of Energy on Tuesday proposed excluding waste from new plutonium pits and some nuclear-weapons waste generated before 1970 from part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The restrictions, which would apply only to Panel 12 at the deep-underground facility, were part of DOE’s Legacy Transuranic Waste Disposal Plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot […]

The Department of Energy on Tuesday proposed excluding waste from new plutonium pits and some nuclear-weapons waste generated before 1970 from part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The restrictions, which would apply only to Panel 12 at the deep-underground facility, were part of DOE’s Legacy Transuranic Waste Disposal Plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot […]

There would be no significant environmental impact from keeping long-stranded transuranic waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory at Waste Control Specialists’ disposal facility in Texas for another two years, the There Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Tuesday. The commission published its formal finding of no significant impact in the Federal Register about five months after Waste Control Specialists […]

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for it transuranic waste disposal site near Carlsbad, N.M., will release a report soon to help define what constitutes legacy transuranic waste, site managers said last week at a public meeting. The legacy waste disposal plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be out around […]

The Department of Energy is on track to start operation of a major new underground ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in 2026, managers for DOE and the disposal site contractor said last week. Construction and integrated system testing is complete for the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) at […]

While the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Eddy County, N.M., received 490 shipments during fiscal 2024, DOE envisions a more modest 425 shipments during fiscal 2025, top managers said during a public meeting last week. For the short term at least, the rate of defense-related transuranic waste shipments is “probably going to […]

The Department of Energy is on track to start operation of a major new underground ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in 2026, managers for DOE and the disposal site contractor said last week. Construction and integrated system testing is complete for the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) at […]

While the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Eddy County, N.M., received 490 shipments during fiscal 2024, DOE envisions a more modest 425 shipments during fiscal 2025, top managers said during a public meeting last week. For the short term at least, the rate of defense-related transuranic waste shipments is “probably going to […]

The Department of Energy is on track to start operation of a major new underground ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in 2026, managers for DOE and the disposal site contractor said last week. Construction and integrated system testing is complete for the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) at […]

The Department of Energy and its prime contractor for it transuranic waste disposal site near Carlsbad, N.M., will release a report soon to help define what constitutes legacy transuranic waste, site managers said last week at a public meeting. The legacy waste disposal plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should be out around […]

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said it indefinitely reopened a public comment period on the Department of Energy’s July request to expand the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. “A request for an extension to the comment period was received from several stakeholders, most recently at the Agency’s informal public meetings held in […]

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday said it indefinitely reopened a public comment period on the Department of Energy’s July request to expand the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico. “A request for an extension to the comment period was received from several stakeholders, most recently at the Agency’s informal public meetings held in […]

Although the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received little rain from the weather system that caused serious flooding in Roswell, N.M., it did cause road damage prompting DOE to alter this week’s shipment plans for defense-related transuranic waste. Due to the flooding that occurred Sunday in Roswell, and some resulting […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received more shipments of transuranic waste during fiscal 2024 than fiscal 2023, although traffic was down in September 2024 compared to a year earlier. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad received 39 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during September with the most […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received more shipments of transuranic waste during fiscal 2024 than fiscal 2023, although traffic was down in September 2024 compared to a year earlier. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad received at least 37 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during September with […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico received more shipments of transuranic waste during fiscal 2024 than fiscal 2023, although traffic was down in September 2024 compared to a year earlier. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad received at least 37 shipments of defense-related transuranic waste during September with […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., received 50 shipments of transuranic waste during August, according to DOE’s public website. Leading the shipments again was the Idaho National Laboratory, accounting for 36 of the month’s 50 shipments. Savannah River Site sent seven, Los Alamos sent five, and the Oak Ridge National […]

The Department of Energy on Tuesday said it selected NextEra Energy Resources as the final solar-energy contractor for the WIPP site as part of the agency’s Cleanup to Clean Energy program. NextEra Energy Resources will now have the chance to negotiate an agreement for at least 150 megawatts of carbon pollution-free energy deployed on up […]