The Department of Energy is scrutinizing five additional Los Alamos waste drums currently stored at Waste Control Specialists that are “highly acidic” and from the same waste stream as the breached drum discovered in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, according to the New Mexico Environment Department. The breached drum contains nitrate salts and organic kitty litter, which may have contributed to a reaction—but so far Los Alamos National Laboratory has not been able to replicate such a reaction, NMED confirmed. NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn told New Mexico lawmakers earlier this week that DOE is taking a “closer look” at the link between the breached drum and the five other containers at WCS, which contain waste from old LANL evaporator bottoms. “The common link in those 6 containers is they have highly acidic levels (pH values closer to 0),” NMED spokesman Jim Winchester said in a written response.
While the cause of the reaction still hasn’t been identified, “DOE has now said it appears the organic kitty litter was not a trigger, but rather a ‘fuel’ for the energetic event,” Winchester said. DOE sent 100 nitrate waste bearing containers from LANL to WCS last spring following the WIPP shutdown before they were suspected of causing the release in an effort to keep removal efforts on track. All of the nitrate waste-bearing LANL containers at WCS, including the five acidic containers, have been buried to keep temperatures lower.
WCS President William Lindquist said in a statement: “Initially, WCS took the step of placing the Standard Waste Boxes (SWBs) containing this waste into Modular Concrete Canisters (MCCs), which are made of 65,000 pounds of steel reinforced concrete. Once the SWBs were placed inside the MCCs, any void space was filled with small gravel to provide an additional buffer and prevent the build-up of interior gases. In addition, the interior temperature of the MCCs is monitored.”
When asked, DOE did not comment directly yesterday on the acidic containers at WCS. “WIPP, LANL, and WCS have compensatory measures in place to ensure the people and the environment are protected,” a DOE spokesperson said in a written response. “Any waste containers of concern are segregated from other containers at the sites. Personnel continue using a device that can detect heat buildup in any containers of concern on a routine basis. WCS has increased video monitoring and inspections of the waste inventory to identify anything that appears unusual.”
