The Department of Energy has sent its first shipment of remote-handled transuranic waste since 2009 from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) using a new shipping container.
Remote-handled waste is more radioactive than contact-handled transuranic (TRU) waste, which accounts for the vast majority of TRU waste disposed of underground at the WIPP site near Carlsbad, N.M. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management announced in July it would soon resume sending remote-handled waste to WIPP.
“SRS crews loaded the remote-handled waste in heavy-duty steel containers lined with lead, slightly larger than 55-gallon drums,” the Environmental Management office said in a Tuesday news release. “They placed the containers in a shipping cask that can accommodate waste packages with higher radiation levels.”
“Our journey with remote-handled transuranic waste shipments began in 2009, and every step since has reflected our commitment to the safe and efficient management of legacy transuranic waste,” said Kerri Crawford, the manager of Solid Waste Programs for the Fluor-led operations contractor, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS). “Completing the first remote-handled shipment from SRS in over a decade is a significant accomplishment for our team and the site.”
In total, about 150 remote-handled transuranic waste drums are being prepped for the cross-country trip from South Carolina to WIPP, according to the news release. “Looking ahead, SRS will receive 50 additional heavy-duty shielded containers for the remote-handled waste in the near future,” DOE said.