Transuranic Waste

Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation serving the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have lined up $10 million for upkeep of the haul road leading to the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste. The federal money will help shore up the U.S. 285 Relief Route, a […]

Members of the New Mexico Congressional delegation serving the area around the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) have lined up $10 million for upkeep of the haul road leading to the nation’s only disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste. The federal money will help shore up the U.S. 285 Relief Route, a […]

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) found multiple problems with how Savannah River National Laboratory (SRNL) has implemented nuclear safety controls, including deficiencies involving transuranic waste containers, and said the laboratory’s process for verifying safety-basis implementation needs improvement. The findings come from a DNFSB staff review of Revision 3 of SRNL’s documented safety analysis […]

ARLINGTON, VA – Tim Walsh, the Department of Energy’s Assistant Secretary for the Office of Environmental Management (EM) said here Tuesday that his department is close to reaching an agreement with New Mexico officials over the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. Walsh said EM has been in productive negotiations with the New […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., will spend about half of 2027 down for maintenance, DOE and contractor officials told the National Cleanup Workshop here Tuesday. WIPP will be essentially offline and not receiving waste for two three-month cycles during 2027, said Ken Harrawood, president and […]

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) has removed all high-risk cesium-137 from Vermont, making it the 15th U.S. state or territory declared free of high-risk quantities of the radioactive material. This follows a July operation in which a team from Idaho National Laboratory removed a self-shielded cesium irradiator from the University of Vermont in Burlington […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 29 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in August, in its first full month following hoist repairs that paused disposal back in May.  By comparison, the facility received 55 waste shipments in August 2025, and 55 shipments in April of this year, when operations […]

ARLINGTON, Va. — The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., will spend about half of 2027 down for maintenance, DOE and contractor officials told the National Cleanup Workshop here Tuesday. WIPP will be essentially offline and not receiving waste for two three-month cycles during 2027, said Ken Harrawood, president and […]

ARLINGTON – The head of the Department of Energy’s $8-billion nuclear cleanup branch said here Tuesday the Office of Environmental Management (EM) is indeed being renamed. In his “State of EM” speech, Walsh again said the Environmental Management office is being rebranded as the “Office of Nuclear Restoration and Revitalization. His remarks came at the […]

The Department of Energy has sent its first shipment of remote-handled transuranic waste since 2009 from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) using a new shipping container. Remote-handled waste is more radioactive than contact-handled transuranic (TRU) waste, which accounts for the vast majority of TRU waste disposed […]

A Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB) resident inspector watched an emergency drill at the Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state in August to see how crews might handle an earthquake that damaged facilities within the tank farms. “An RI [resident inspector] observed an emergency preparedness event-scene limited drill simulating a seismic event […]

The Department of Energy has sent its first shipment of remote-handled transuranic waste since 2009 from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) using a new shipping container. Remote-handled waste is more radioactive than contact-handled transuranic (TRU) waste, which accounts for the vast majority of TRU waste disposed […]

The Department of Energy has sent its first shipment of remote-handled transuranic waste since 2009 from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) using a new shipping container. Remote-handled waste is more radioactive than contact-handled transuranic (TRU) waste, which accounts for the vast majority of TRU waste disposed […]

In a supplemental environmental analysis this week the Department of Energy reiterates it sees a role for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico into the 2080s, which might strain the already tense relationship with state regulators. The DOE’s Office of Environmental Management foresees a need for eventual excavation of seven more underground […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has promoted Mindy Toothman to be deputy manager at the Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. In the new role, Toothman will assist DOE Carlsbad Manager Mark Bollinger in overseeing operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which is the nation’s only deep disposal site for […]

The Department of Energy and the environmental cleanup contractor at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., have started certifying containers of transuranic waste in preparation for eventual shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday announcement that it is working with Amentum-led contractor […]

The Department of Energy and the environmental cleanup contractor at the Hanford Site in Richland, Wash., have started certifying containers of transuranic waste in preparation for eventual shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management said in a Tuesday announcement that it is working with Amentum-led contractor […]

Carlsbad and Eddy County, N.M., the area where the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) is located, is facing a week of high temperatures at or above 100 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Weather Service. The high Monday was expected to reach 106 degrees with a heat advisory in effect, according to […]

The Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management has promoted Mindy Toothman to be deputy manager at the Carlsbad Field Office in New Mexico. In the new role, Toothman will assist DOE Carlsbad Manager Mark Bollinger in overseeing operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), which is the nation’s only deep disposal site for […]

The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 17 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in July, after shipments were paused in May due to issues with the plant’s underground hoists.  For comparison, WIPP received 48 TRU waste shipments in July 2025. The facility received 23 shipments in May 2026, before the […]

The New Mexico Environment Department rejected U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerns about proposed changes to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) hazardous waste permit, including a warning that the overhaul could jeopardize the state’s authority to run its federally accredited program.  In an Aug. 11 response to EPA Region 6 Administrator Scott Mason, NMED defended […]

The Department of Energy contractor that runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) said on Wednesday the underground transuranic waste repository has resumed operations after an unplanned outage of nearly two months caused by problems with two aging hoists and other complications.  Ryan Flynn, deputy program manager for Bechtel-led Salado Isolation Mining Contractors, told a […]

Tom Stiehle, HII’s chief financial officer, said in Huntington Ingalls Industries’ second quarter earnings call the company had done “the initial start of the design work for the [Trump-class] battleship [BBG(X)] as well on a limited basis with support and cooperation with the Navy.”  In May, Jason Potter, then-performing the duties of assistant Navy secretary […]

After being out of service about two months to fix problems with underground hoists, the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) resumed taking shipments of defense-related transuranic waste in July, according to publicly-available data. According to DOE’s public shipment website for WIPP, a couple of waste shipments from the Los Alamos National Laboratory […]

A joint venture between Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and BWX Technologies said Tuesday it is meeting its goals for moving legacy transuranic waste from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “This fiscal year has been N3B’s most productive year in reducing legacy transuranic […]

With a flammable gas analysis complete, the Department of Energy said Tuesday the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, S.C., could soon be ready to resume shipments of the more radioactive type of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. SRS can soon resume shipping drums of remote-handled transuranic waste […]

With a flammable gas analysis complete, the Department of Energy said Tuesday the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, S.C., could soon be ready to resume shipments of the more radioactive type of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. SRS can soon resume shipping drums of remote-handled transuranic waste […]

A joint venture between Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and BWX Technologies said Tuesday it is meeting its goals for moving legacy transuranic waste from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “This fiscal year has been N3B’s most productive year in reducing legacy transuranic […]

A joint venture between Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) and BWX Technologies said Tuesday it is meeting its goals for moving legacy transuranic waste from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M. “This fiscal year has been N3B’s most productive year in reducing legacy transuranic […]

With a flammable gas analysis complete, the Department of Energy said Tuesday the Savannah River Site (SRS) near Aiken, S.C., could soon be ready to resume shipments of the more radioactive type of transuranic waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico. SRS can soon resume shipping drums of remote-handled transuranic waste […]