A damaged and burnt drum from Los Alamos National Laboratory discovered in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground may have contributed to the site’s Feb. 14 radiation release, the Department of Energy said late last week. A photo from the May 15 entry into the mine’s Panel Seven posted here shows a black waste drum with a cracked lid and evidence of heat damage. A leading theory is that nitrate salts in certain waste drums led to a reaction that resulted in the release. LANL Director Charlie McMillan said Friday that the lab doesn’t believe there is any “imminent threat” to safety. “We have already taken additional precautionary measures to ensure that similar waste drums here at the Lab and those sent to Waste Control Specialists in Texas are in a safe and controlled configuration,” he said in a message to employees obtained by WC Monitor.
DOE plans to continue investigations to see what caused the burst container and to see if other waste containers were damaged. “While many details remain unknown, additional investigative work is being planned to pinpoint the cause of the breached drum, the radiological release, and whether other containers were involved in the release,” McMillan said. “Experts from DOE, WIPP, Los Alamos, and Savannah River National Laboratory are working together to establish the range of possibilities that may have caused this event.”
