The U.S. Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., has extracted more than 3,000 tons of salt since Jan. 15 when it resumed its underground mining operations, a spokesman for site prime contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership said Friday.
NWP spokesman Donavan Mager cited the figure during in a phone call and email exchange about revisions WIPP is seeking in its underground mining plan filed with the state of New Mexico.
In January, WIPP resumed salt mining for the first time since a February 2014 radiological release forced the transuranic disposal site out of service until December 2016. Energy Department and contractor officials have released few details about their production expectations for the renewed salt mining other than saying startup is occurring at a measured pace.
The salt is extracted to open up space for disposal of transuranic waste from DOE sites around the nation. Most of the salt is placed into tailings piles on the surface of the property. One of the revisions being sought in the updated mining plan would enable WIPP to use salt, in some cases, in addition to metal bulkheads, to close off underground sections where waste disposal has been completed.
Nuclear Waste Partnership expects to soon hire a director of mining operations, as directed by DOE. The position would, among other things, manage compliance with U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration rules, Mager said.
