Shipments to the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) appear to be back in full swing, with the facility receiving 55 waste shipments in April.
That’s the highest total since the 61 shipments of defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste that WIPP received in September 2025. It was also higher than the 47 it received in April of last year, according to the plant’s receipt database.
Of the 55 shipments, 28 came from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL), followed by 21 from the Los Alamos National Laboratory, about 350 miles north of Carlsbad, N.M. where WIPP is located. The remaining six were sent from the Savannah River Site near Aiken, S.C.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is managed for DOE by Bechtel’s Salado Isolation Mining Contractors. Last month was WIPP’s second month back in operation, following a two-month outage at the 16-square-mile plant near Carlsbad.
For the calendar year, WIPP received 80 shipments from January through April 2026, compared to 62 during the same timeframe in 2025.
So far, in fiscal 2026, which started Oct. 1, 2025, WIPP has received 183 shipments, By comparison, the facility received 156 shipments from October 2024 through April 2025 last fiscal year.
TRU waste is 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.