Weapons Complex Vol. 26 No. 3
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Weapons Complex Monitor

Article 17 of 20

January 23, 2015

On WIPP

By Mike Nartker

Large Chunk of WIPP Ceiling Falls

WC Monitor
1/23/2015

A large chunk of the ceiling in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground fell last week in a restricted access area in the Panel 3 access drift, according to the Department of Energy. No workers were present when the Jan. 15 fall occurred, which was estimated to involve a section of the ceiling 8 feet long by 8 feet wide and 24 inches thick. The area where it occurred had low levels of radioactive contamination from the radiological release that occurred at WIPP last February. “This event highlights the need to continue prioritizing roof bolting and ground control in both the contaminated and uncontaminated areas of the WIPP underground facility in order to ensure safety and habitability in the underground,” DOE said in a release. “This area was originally scheduled to be re-bolted during the annual outage in February 2014. The outage was suspended as a result of the fire and radiological incidents, and the bolting was not performed.”

After geotechnical inspections were performed in November, WIPP identified seven areas where areas were restricted because of lost bolts. The roof bolts are used to stabilize the mine’s structure, but due to the WIPP closure and limitations on operating equipment, bolting operations were on pause for months until they restarted last November. Since then over 280 bolts have been reinstalled, WIPP officials said earlier this month.

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Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 46
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Weapons Complex Monitor

Article 17 of 22

December 05, 2014

On WIPP

By Mike Nartker

DOE Names New WIPP Recovery Manager

WC Monitor
12/5/2014

The Department of Energy has appointed Sean Dunagan from Sandia National Laboratories as the Carlsbad Field Office’s Senior WIPP Recovery Manager, replacing Tom Teynor. Dunagan, who takes over on Dec. 8, is currently a research and development manager at Sandia. He will lead the WIPP Recovery Project as the repository rebuilds after being shut down since a truck fire and radiological release occurred early this year, and will report directly to CBFO Manager Joe Franco. Dunagan “will serve as a nationally recognized and principal authority as the DOE Environmental Management Project on-site manager to lead the restoration of the WIPP facility and resumption of critical Transuranic (TRU) shipments to WIPP,” according to a DOE statement.

DOE named Teynor to the WIPP Recovery Manager position when it was created in April. Teynor has since returned to his previous post at Hanford’s Richland Operations Office, where he will serve as federal project manager of the Plutonium Finishing Plant D&D project.

DOE Agrees to Independent Review of WIPP Incidents

WC Monitor
12/5/2014

The Department of Energy is planning to support an independent review of the incidents earlier this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant that resulted in the shutdown of the facility, a condition previously called for by the start of New Mexico prior to a restart of operations. In order to regain confidence in the facility, New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn said in September that the state needs a firm answer on the cause of a radiological release that occurred in February that has been verified by an independent peer-reviewed team.

DOE has agreed to NMED’s request for a peer review of the conclusions of DOE’s Technical Assessment Team. “The Department is committed to re-opening WIPP and understands the need to provide the public with the trust and confidence that we can do so safely. The Technical Assessment Team was established to provide an understanding of what happened during the radiological event at WIPP and brings together the technical expertise of five national labs,” a DOE spokesperson said in a written response last week. “We are supportive of the request to have the Teams work evaluated and believe that it will provide additional confidence in our ability to learn from the events at WIPP to ensure the future safe operations of the facility. The scope and timing of the review are still being discussed.”

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Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 35
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Weapons Complex Monitor

Article 13 of 15

September 12, 2014

On WIPP

By Kenny Fletcher

Carlsbad Field Office Undergoes Reorganization

WC Monitor
9/12/2014

The Department of Energy’s Carlsbad Field Office is undergoing a reorganization that will include a focus on contractor oversight and will significantly increase the number of federal employees at the site. The reorganization became effective in July, and CBFO is in the process of hiring for vacancies for Fiscal Year 2014 and will be posting more positions for FY’15. The federal full time employee ceiling was also increased from 55 to 77. "The Carlsbad Field Office re-organization facilitates the WIPP recovery efforts as it progresses towards restoration of operations. The new structure enhances the federal programmatic and oversight roles," a DOE spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Carlsbad office will be split into two major areas: oversight and program management, according to DOE CBFO’s J.R. Stroble, director of the national TRU program. “The key point behind that change is to put the oversight portion of our organization all under one assistant manager and to focus their attention on oversight of the contractor and their activities,” he said at the RadWaste Summit. “The program management part is really just everything else that doesn’t fit completely under oversight, and it also will have some oversight components to it.”

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Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 32
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Weapons Complex Monitor

Article 8 of 16

August 22, 2014

On WIPP

By Kenny Fletcher

Worker Injured in February Fire Sues Contractors

WC Monitor
8/22/2014

A Waste Isolation Pilot Plant worker is suing the facility’s current and former contractors for damages he suffered due to smoke inhalation after the Feb. 5 salt truck fire in the WIPP underground. The suit was filed by William Utter, who was one of 13 workers sent to the hospital for treatment following the fire. The complaint references the findings of the Department of Energy’s Accident Investigation Board, which found that the fire was “preventable” and lists numerous maintenance and response issues that contributed to the event. The contractor’s “acts and omissions” as a result “created foreseeably dangerous conditions” that led to Utter’s maladies, according to the complaint.

Utter filed the complaint in late July in the Sante Fe County First Judicial District Court claiming personal injury, negligence, premises liability, intentional and willful conduct, loss of consortium and damages. He named current WIPP M&O contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership and former contractor Washington TRU Solutions, parent company URS and Southwest Safety Specialists, which was responsible for maintaining the fire suppression system on the salt truck. The complaint states: “The manual fire suppression system on the salt haul truck on which the fire originated on the day of the Incident failed to perform or perform adequately.”

As a result of smoke inhalation and “toxic inhalation,” Utter has “experienced severe mental and emotional injuries” as well as “severe emotional distress” and pain and suffering. “He is unable to perform or engage in the normal activities of daily living, including providing household services and spending time with his wife and son,” the complaint states. The plaintiff requested a six-person jury to hear the case. NWP this week declined to comment on ongoing litigation.

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Weapons Complex Vol. 25 No. 30
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Weapons Complex Monitor

Article 11 of 16

July 25, 2014

On WIPP

By Mike Nartker

DOE Reduces Scope of Transportation Contract

WC Monitor
7/25/2014

With operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant shut down for the foreseeable future, the Department of Energy has moved to reduce the workscope of one of its two contractors tasked with transporting waste to the facility. Visionary Solutions has cut the number of its two-person driving teams from 11 to three, and reduced the number of dedicated trucks or tractors to three, according to a DOE release issued late last week. “In anticipation of the decline in shipments, the Carlsbad Field Office asked Visionary Solutions to propose cost estimates that reflect the reduced need for transportation services,” the release says. “WIPP will maintain its transportation capability to support continued training requirements, emergency response exercises, and potential inter-site shipments. WIPP continues to focus all efforts on recovering the facility and returning to full operations,” the release says. Along with Visionary Solutions, CAST Specialty Transportation Services, Inc. also provides transportation services for WIPP.

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Weapons Complex Vol 25 No 19
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Weapons Complex Monitor

Article 15 of 16

May 09, 2014

On WIPP

By Mike Nartker

NWP Awards WIPP Records Subcontract to TFE

WC Monitor
5/9/2014

Oak Ridge, Tenn.-based TFE, Inc. has won a new subcontract to provide records management services at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. The subcontract is worth $24.5 million over five years and is set to begin July 1, according to a release from Nuclear Waste Partnership, the managing contractor at WIPP that awarded the subcontract. TFE will be taking over from S.M. Stoller. The scope of work to be performed includes WIPP archive and inactive records, WIPP document services, Central Characterization Program Records and DOE Carlsbad Field Office active records.

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On WIPP

DOE Issues RFP for Carlsbad Technical Assistance Contract

On WIPP

Large Chunk of WIPP Ceiling Falls

On WIPP

DOE Names New WIPP Recovery Manager

DOE Agrees to Independent Review of WIPP Incidents

On WIPP

Carlsbad Field Office Undergoes Reorganization

On WIPP

Worker Injured in February Fire Sues Contractors

On WIPP

DOE Reduces Scope of Transportation Contract

On WIPP

NWP Awards WIPP Records Subcontract to TFE