Elevated levels of radioactive contamination were found last month on transuranic waste drums awaiting shipment from the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge Site in Tennessee to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico, according to a recent update from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB).
“The contamination readings were due to the decay of Radium-226 to polonium and lead that settled on the exterior of drums,” according to a DNFSB site report, dated June 14 and posted online earlier this month.
To avoid such contamination in the future, staff at the Transuranic Waste Processing Center in Oak Ridge plan to wipe down the outside of the drums “and perform smears on all drums prior to loading” in shipping containers for the journey to New Mexico.
The brief update did not indicate how many drums had the contamination problem or when they were shipped. The DNFSB provides recommendations and advice to the Energy Department on health and safety issues across the defense nuclear complex.
Oak Ridge has made 20 shipments to WIPP so far this year, including nine during May and June.
The Energy Department did not comment by deadline on the issue.
