DOE EVALUATES IF LOS ALAMOS DRUMS CAUSED WIPP RELEASE

The Department of Energy is evaluating whether a reaction in waste drums from Los Alamos National Laboratory led to the Feb. 14 radiation release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and has meanwhile suspend shipments of some of the drums to Waste Control Specialists, the Department said Friday. LANL has been the focus of a high-profile accelerated effort to remove 3,706 cubic meters of transuranic waste stored aboveground by a June 30 deadline. “Based on recent entries into the WIPP underground facility, the team is evaluating the contents of a set of waste drums that came from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) that are located in Panel 7, the location of the event. The team is looking at the possibility that a chemical reaction may have occurred within a drum, causing a potential release,” DOE said.

 

During the WIPP shutdown, those shipments had been diverted to a temporary storage site at the WCS facility in Texas. “To maintain our commitment to the protection of workers, residents, and the environment, shipments of a specific LANL waste stream to Waste Control Specialists have been temporarily halted,” DOE said. “As part of the ongoing efforts to identify the cause of the February 14 event at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, we are evaluating all possible causes including the waste packages themselves.”