Transuranic Waste

Manned reentry to the Waste isolation Pilot Plant underground is slated for this week, the first time that workers will reenter the underground since the Feb. 14 radiation release at the repository. The move will be major  step toward identifying the cause of the release. The Department of Energy posted Saturday a summary of the […]

In preparation for reentering the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground, air intake and salt shaft inspections have been completed and have not identified any safety or mechanical concerns, the Department of Energy announced yesterday. The inspections are required before mine reentry. “ During the inspections personnel rode the conveyance down the shaft at a slow […]

Any maintenance issues at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant were the contractor’s responsibility and not due to a lack of funding, DOE cleanup chief Dave Huizenga said yesterday. A report on the Feb. 5 salt truck fire at the plant found that a lack of proper vehicle maintenance contributed to the event, and an investigation […]

In an initial assessment of the recent fire and radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said that operations at the facility were not up to standards. “Operations at the WIPP site were not performed with the rigor necessary for a hazard category 2 defense nuclear facility, especially for […]

The New Mexico Environment Department on Friday notified the Department of Energy that the state has withdrawn the pending draft permit modification for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the wake of the fire and subsequent radiological release at the site.  “NMED cannot move forward on the WIPP’s request to open additional underground storage panels […]

The Department of Energy is expected to announce as early as today an agreement with Waste Control Specialists for temporary storage of transuranic waste from Los Alamos during the shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, WC Monitor has learned. Los Alamos National Laboratory is in the midst of a campaign to remove 3,706 cubic […]

Waste Isolation Pilot Plant contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership is addressing issues after an investigation found that a fire last month at the facility was preventable. An accident investigation released late last week into the Feb. 5 salt truck fire noted that a lack of proper maintenance, an inadequate fire suppression system and an inadequate response […]

The fire last month at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant was “preventable” due to factors including a lack of proper maintenance and an inadequate fire suppression system, an accident investigation report released Friday concluded. The Feb. 5 salt truck fire in the WIPP underground most likely started when a buildup of flammable fluids on the […]

URS yesterday named Bob McQuinn as the new president and project manager of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership, demoting NWP head Farok Sharif to project manager of the TRU Waste Program. The management change was in response to recent incidents at WIPP, including a fire and radiation release last month. "To strengthen our […]

The Department of Energy yesterday announced it has approved a plan for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant workforce and will also be holding weekly town hall meetings on WIPP every Thursday. Site contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership submitted the workforce plan yesterday, and it calls for utilizing its employees both for identifying the cause of last […]

Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) pushed for daily updates from the Department of Energy on the situation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant at a town hall meeting he hosted Friday in Carlsbad, N.M., the day after the Department of Energy held a similar public meeting there. Pearce said he held the meeting to ensure transparency, […]

Over the weekend monitoring equipment was lowered into the underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant for the first time since a radiation release was detected on Feb. 14. Workers lowered radiation and air quality instruments Friday and Saturday down the salt handling and air intake shafts, and initial findings showed “no detectable radioactive contamination […]

The Department of Energy is holding a town hall meeting in Carlsbad, N.M., today to discuss recovery activities after the shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant due to a fire and radiation release. Scheduled to speak are DOE cleanup chief Dave Huizenga, DOE Deputy Under Secretary for Management and Performance David Klaus, DOE Carlsbad […]

Due to the continued shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, New Mexico is extending deadlines for storing waste aboveground at the site, according to an order by the New Mexico Environment Department released yesterday. The extension only applies to waste that had reached the facility but had not been placed underground before WIPP was […]

When the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant may reopen remains uncertain, but the Department of Energy is “exploring all options” to keep transuranic waste efforts moving ahead, DOE cleanup chief David Huizenga said yesterday at the Waste Management Symposia. Operations at WIPP are on hold after DOE detected a radiation leak Feb. 14. “In addition to […]

The Department of Energy and contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership yesterday notified 13 workers at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant of positive preliminary bioassay results. The employees were at the site during the Feb. 14 event that resulted in an underground air monitor indicating a likely leak of radiation from a waste drum. “All employees present […]

Additional samples collected at “numerous locations on and around the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant” have tested positive for “slightly elevated levels of airborne radioactive concentrations” matching waste disposed at WIPP, DOE said yesterday. Officials have said that most likely radiation escaping a waste drum underground at WIPP set off an underground air monitor the night […]

Some radioactive elements were discovered in a filter located at an access road aboveground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy said last night. This comes after last Friday officials said that an underground air monitor at WIPP detected airborne radiation, triggering filtration of air going from the mine to aboveground. “Recent […]

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant remains closed to nonessential personnel as officials investigate what set off an airborne radiation monitor at the facility Friday night. A continuous air monitor detected airborne radiation underground at about 11:30 p.m. Friday, automatically triggering the filtration mode in WIPP’s ventilation system in an effort to prevent contamination at the […]

All shipments to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant have been halted after a fire at the facility started yesterday at a truck used to transport salt. All workers were evacuated from underground, and several were treated at an area hospital for smoke inhalation and released, according to the Department of Energy. There was no waste […]

WCS, DOE Look to Change Acceptance Criteria Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 5/2/2014 More than 75 of the transuranic waste containers slated for shipment from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Waste Control Specialists may not meet the current WCS acceptance criteria, complicating a high-profile push to remove all aboveground LANL transuranic waste by the end of […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 4/4/2014 The first shipment of Los Alamos transuranic waste arrived at the Waste Control Specialists facility in Texas this week for temporary storage during the ongoing shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The storage will take place under a one-year,  $8.8 million contract between WCS and WIPP contractor Nuclear Waste […]

Kenneth Fletcher RW Monitor 3/21/2014 While the Department of Energy this week announced that it plans to send transuranic waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Waste Control Specialists for temporary storage, there is a tight time frame for completing preparations for the shipments.  DOE has committed to New Mexico to completing its campaign for […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 As this week marked three months since the Feb. 14 radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant that has left the facility shut down for the foreseeable future, there is still no clear answer as to what caused the release, though officials have found evidence of a reaction that […]

Shipments Halted as DOE Examines Potential Reactions In LANL Drums Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 With shipments suspended for the past two weeks, it could soon be impossible to meet a high-profile June 30 commitment to New Mexico to remove aboveground transuranic waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory. The campaign has been the top priority […]

Poor Maintenance Found to Be Factor in Incidents at Repository Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 With the Department of Energy and Nuclear Waste Partnership, the managing contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, coming under heavy criticism for inadequate maintenance at WIPP, documents obtained by WC Monitor through a Freedom of Information Act request show […]

Local Officials Near Site Want to Block Award of New Contract to TFE, Inc. Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/16/2014 Local officials in Carlsbad, N.M., are pushing the Department of Energy to block the recent award of a $24.5 million Waste Isolation Pilot Plant subcontract to Tennessee-based TFE, Inc. URS-led M&O contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership last […]

Waste Shipments Halted Past Two Weeks as DOE Examines Potential Reactions In LANL Drums Kenneth Fletcher NS&D Monitor 5/16/2014 With shipments suspended for the past two weeks, it could soon be impossible for the Department of Energy to meet a high-profile June 30 commitment to New Mexico to remove aboveground transuranic waste from Los Alamos […]

Officials Focus on Reaction in Los Alamos Drums as Possible Cause of Release Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/9/2014 It could be two -to-three years before operations fully resume at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant following the Feb. 14 radiation release at the facility, the head of the recovery effort for contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership said […]

Kenneth Fletcher WC Monitor 5/9/2014 During the protracted shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, sites with transuranic waste, including Oak Ridge and Idaho, are coming up with solutions to storage issues in order to keep processing waste. While waste from those sites was being disposed of at WIPP to meet agreements with Idaho and […]