Los Alamos National Laboratory is addressing recommendations the Department of Energy Inspector General’s Office raised in a report that found weaknesses in LANL’s waste remediation and packaging techniques that could be linked to the radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The IG report noted that LANL did not fully consider reactivity issues between nitrate salt bearing waste and the organic absorbents and liquid acid neutralizers used to process the transuranic waste into drums and did not follow established procedures for revising its processes. A Lab spokesman said in a statement: “The OIG report is consistent with many of the waste processing issues already identified by the Energy Department and the Lab. We will actively address the OIG’s recommendations in our continuing efforts to learn from these events and improve our operational practices.”
A LANL drum found cracked open in the WIPP underground has been tied to the Feb. 14 radiation release at the facility. The IG report included numerous recommendations for DOE and LANL, including ensuring that procedure changes are more thoroughly reviewed and notifying federal TRU waste program officials of such changes. “Due to the unusual circumstances of events leading up to the radiological release at WIPP, prompt and effective corrective actions are essential to ensure that LANL’s processes to change operating procedures appropriately identify the hazards associated with those changes,” the IG report states.
The National Nuclear Security Administration concurred with all of the recommendations, and said that it and the Lab are securing the remaining drums. “As a precautionary measure, all nitrate salt waste at Los Alamos is stored safely and securely in steel and glass structures equipped with high efficiency particulate air filtration and fire suppression systems,” the LANL spokesman said. “The waste is visually inspected and monitored for temperature. We are committed to working cooperatively with the State of New Mexico, and will not resume the processing of legacy waste until we are certain it is safe to do so.”
