The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 29 defense-related transuranic waste shipments in May.
That’s a downtick from the 49 shipments the plant received in April, but more than the 13 in March when the storage site reopened after a planned outage. By comparison, the facility near Carlsbad, N.M. received 51 total waste shipments in May 2024, according to WIPP’s receipt database.
The 29 shipments from last month include 22 from Idaho National Lab (INL), four from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and three from Los Alamos National Laboratory, about 350 miles north of WIPP in New Mexico.
The storage facility is the nation’s only repository for defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste, material contaminated with radioactive elements during nuclear missions. It typically includes protective clothing, tools, rags, equipment, and miscellaneous items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium.
To date, WIPP has received 183 TRU shipments in fiscal year 2025, which began on Oct. 1, 2024. That total includes 131 from the Idaho lab. By comparison, the facility received 292 shipments from October 2023 through May 2024 last fiscal year.
NEW: Via public records request, I’ve been able to confirm reporting today that a warrant has been issued for DOE deputy asst. secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition Sam Brinton for another luggage theft, this time at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid airport. (cc: @EMPublications)
DOE spent fuel lead Brinton accused of second luggage theft.
by @BenjaminSWeiss, confirming today's reports with warrant from Las Vegas Metro PD.
Waste has been Emplaced! 🚮
We have finally begun emplacing defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste in Panel 8 of #WIPP.
Read more about the waste emplacement here: https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20221123-2.asp
Editorial: Sam Brinton’s credibility is now an issue 🔓