Two previously open panels in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground that had contained nitrate salt bearing waste linked to the 2014 radiological release have now been closed and sealed, the Department of Energy announced yesterday. The WIPP release was linked to a container containing nitrate salts in WIPP’s Panel 7, Room 7, which WIPP contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership closed on May 29. Additional drums containing the material were also located in WIPP’s Panel 6, which was sealed on May 13. The actions come after last year the New Mexico Environment Department issued an Administrative Order mandating sealing the panels. “We are very pleased to see the closure of all underground areas that contain the nitrate salt bearing waste stream responsible for last year’s radiological release at WIPP,” NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn said in a statement. “New Mexico will continue to ensure that all necessary steps are taken in accordance with the Administrative Order as WIPP continues the recovery in a safe manner.”
Closing the panels involved installation of steel bulkheads in front of chain link, brattice cloth and 10 feet of salt backfill. “This milestone illustrates DOE’s commitment to safely recover WIPP in a manner that increases worker safety and protects the public and the environment,” DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Joe Franco said in a statement. “The DOE and its contractors at WIPP will continue to safely implement the recovery plan as we work toward resuming operations at WIPP.”
