The Feb. 5 fire that occurred at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is estimated to have caused at least $2.5 million worth of damage, according to the Department of Energy. The estimate was included in a June 23 letter, officially released yesterday, notifying WIPP managing contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership of DOE’s plans to reduce the contractor’s Fiscal Year 2014 fee by 25 percent because of the fire. Weapons Complex Monitor first reported last week of DOE’s plans to reduce NWP’s fee by approximately $2 million, though the contractor can recover half of that if it is successful in implementing corrective actions. The 25 percent fee reduction was the maximum DOE could impose for what the Department described in its letter as “a second degree performance failure.”
The June 23 letter notes that DOE established an Accident Investigation Board for the Feb. 5 fire in accordance with Department criteria that “establishes a requirement for the AIB where the estimated loss or damage to DOE property equals or exceeds $2.5 million and the underground mine fire met that requirement.” The letter goes on to say, “As of April 30, 2014, NWP has estimated approximately $848,700 in costs directly associated with the fire event. Additional costs continue to be incurred for cleaning, decontaminating, renovating, replacing or rehabilitating property.”
The fire involved a salt haul truck, and the Department’s investigation found that the fire likely started when a buildup of flammable fluids on the truck, such as diesel fuel or hydraulic fluid, came in contact with a hot surface such as the catalytic convertor. DOE’s Accident Investigation Board attributed the root cause of the incident to NWP’s failure NWP “to adequately recognize and mitigate the hazard regarding a fire in the underground,” the Board’s report states. “This includes recognition and removal of the buildup of combustibles through inspections, and periodic preventative maintenance, e.g., cleaning and the decision to deactivate the automatic onboard fire suppression system.” NWP did not respond to requests for comment on DOE’s fee reduction letter or on the costs of the fire yesterday.
