The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 17 transuranic (TRU) waste shipments in July, after shipments were paused in May due to issues with the plant’s underground hoists.
For comparison, WIPP received 48 TRU waste shipments in July 2025. The facility received 23 shipments in May 2026, before the shutdown began, according to WIPP’s public shipment website.
Last month, shipments resumed on July 22. The 17 shipments included 9 from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), and seven from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, about 350 miles north of Carlsbad, N.M. where WIPP is located. An additional shipment came from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.
WIPP is operated for DOE by Bechtel-led prime Salado Isolation Mining Contractors. It is the nation’s only repository for defense-related TRU waste, contaminated with radioactive elements during nuclear work. It typically includes protective clothing, tools, rags, equipment, and miscellaneous items contaminated with small amounts of plutonium.
In May, WIPP’s Air Intake Shaft Hoist and Salt Hoist were taken out of service due to failed equipment and a faulty motor. In a June 17 letter, the New Mexico Environment Department granted a 60-day storage time extension, through Aug. 27, for WIPP to begin receiving shipments, based on how long on how long contact-handled transuranic waste could remain in certain areas.
During the first seven months of this calendar year, WIPP has taken in 120 shipments, down from 222 during the first seven months of 2025, due to various outages.
Through July of this fiscal year, which runs from Oct. 1, 2025 through Sept. 30, 2026, WIPP has received 223 shipments, including 108 from INL. During the same timeframe in fiscal 2025, the facility received 316 shipments, including 230 from Idaho.
