Mike Nartker
WC Monitor
7/25/2014
As the investigation continues into the cause of the radiological release that shut down the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz is set to travel to Carlsbad, N.M., next month. New Mexico Senators Tom Udall (D) and Martin Heinrich (D), along with Rep. Steve Pearce (R), announced late this week that Moniz will travel to Carlsbad Aug. 12 for “a discussion about the ongoing recovery” at WIPP. Among the topics the lawmakers want to discuss with Moniz, according to a release, is “the future of funding for recovery and the need for DOE to provide Congress with a detailed accounting of the money it needs and how the funds would be spent.”
WIPP has been closed since two incidents occurred in February—a truck fire that occurred Feb. 5 and the radiological release that occurred Feb. 14. The exact cost to reopen the facility is not yet known—DOE has reportedly told Congressional staff that it would need approximately $130 million in additional funding for FY 2015, while in April WIPP managing contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership developed an initial estimate that put the cost of the WIPP recovery at approximately $250 million. Both the House and Senate are looking to provide additional funds to WIPP next year, but in different ways. The House version of the FY 2015 Energy and Water Appropriations bill would give DOE authority to transfer up to $120 million from contractor pension plans—the Department would have the ability to transfer up to $90 million from the National Nuclear Security Administration’s “weapons activities” funding, and up to $30 million from the NNSA’s “defense nuclear nonproliferation” funding. In contrast, the Senate version of the bill includes an additional $102 million in appropriated funding.
In the report accompanying the Senate version of the spending bill, released this week, lawmakers called on DOE to provide a detailed budget plan for the WIPP recovery effort. “The Committee is concerned that a detailed budget justification for recovery dollars for WIPP has not been provided by the Department of Energy and the administration,” the report says. “The Committee is prepared to fund necessary additional investigation and recovery operations at WIPP to ensure the safe rehabilitation and continuation of the facility, but urges the Department of Energy to submit an official position and detailed plan to address all critical needs, including an explanation of the remediation plan, so that resources are properly allocated.”
Investigation Looking at Potential Role of Lead-Lined Glove
Meanwhile, efforts are still underway to determine the exact cause of the radiological release, and this week DOE said it has resumed entries into the underground portion of WIPP after they were suspended while air filters were changed on the facility’s ventilation system. “The Accident Investigation Board (AIB) has completed their examination in most of the underground facility. However, Room 7 Panel 7 will be inaccessible to recovery workers until the AIB investigation is completed,” DOE said.
Among the potential causes being examined is whether a switch to the use of organic kitty litter as an absorbant may have interacted with nitrate salts in the drum suspected to be at the center of the release, as well as the potential role of neutralizers added to the drum. Another factor now under examination, according to local media reports, is a lead-lined glove that was in the drum. An official at the Los Alamos National Laboratory told a New Mexico state legislature committee this week that the glove and trace metals are being looked at as a potential factor in the release, the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper reported this week.
A DOE spokesperson said in a written response to WC Monitor this week, “The Department will continue to support the Accident Investigation Board and the Technical Assistance Team as they continue to search for the cause of the breach drum in Room 7 that led to the radiological event. Investigations by their very nature are difficult to place on a schedule. As a part of the ongoing internal investigation we are looking at all possibilities and nothing has been ruled out.”
