The Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., should improve certain practices to ensure safe operation of its underground ventilation, according to a recent DOE report.
Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) should also communicate more with union labor at the waste disposal facility, particularly regarding to expectations for work practices and keeping equipment running properly, according to DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessments (EA).
“Nuclear Waste Partnership has developed and implemented revised procedures to improve the rigor associated with ventilation configuration changes in the underground,” and is working on improved dialogue with employees on safety and other issues, NWP spokesman Bobby St. John said by email Monday.
The contractor is also working to keep all staff up to date on current equipment and work issues underground, St. John added.
The NWP is an AECOM-led venture that runs WIPP for the DOE. The contractor team consists of partner BWXT and major subcontractor AREVA Federal Services (now Orano Federal Services). The venture received an extension from DOE in September 2017, which keeps it on the job at WIPP through September 2020. The long-term contract which began in October 2012 has a potential value of about $2.2 billion.
Nuclear Waste Partnership put the new procedures in place following publication in September of a report from EA’s Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments.
The DOE assessments office observed work at the disposal facility for underground defense transuranic waste during a week in April and about two weeks in June, and also reviewed numerous WIPP records and talked to employees
One problem is that NWP lacks “a rigorous process, including clear authority” to open or close mine ventilation curtains, movable barriers used to direct airflow.
Confusion over curtain placement once this spring temporarily reduced airflow below the safe level for operation of diesel salt mining equipment, according to the report. The contractor removes salt in order to open up space for waste disposal. Since the incident, NWP has made it clear to workers that only the underground engineer can order changes to the ventilation curtains.
The Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments also found significant opportunity for improvement in communication between management and unionized personnel who work in WIPP’s underground. During focus group meetings, union representatives said NWP management does not keep them well informed on safety issues. There is also confusion about the location and condition of underground equipment, EA said.
Emplacement of waste from DOE sites resumed at WIPP in April 2017, following a nearly three-year outage forced by a February 2014 radiation release underground.
Separately, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in a new report that a salt haul truck fire that occurred shortly before the 2014 radiation incident illustrates the need for vigilance on vehicle inspections. The February 2014 fire occurred when flammable liquid, either hydraulic fluid or diesel fuel, touched a catalytic converter or other hot surface on the haul truck.
But reviews by DNFSB during 2016 and 2018 found the underground vehicle inspection regime still has gaps. The independent nuclear safety watchdog said vehicles that leak fluids need to be removed from service until fixed; leaks are often classified incorrectly; logbooks often don’t get sufficient attention from supervisors; and the process for inspected vehicles is frequently unapproved or outdated.
The WIPP contractor did not respond to a request for comment on the DNFSB report by press time.
