Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) needs to provide more visible escape paths from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) and improve the reliability of water supply for its fire suppression system, according to a report issued Friday by the Energy Department’s Office of Enterprise Assessments.
“In most cases, NWP has effectively established and implemented fire protection controls for reducing the risk associated with fire at the WIPP,” the July 8 EA report says of the WIPP operations contractor, specifically citing knowledgeable fire engineers, upgrades to a number of fire protection systems, and the hazard analysis checklists for vehicles in the mine.
However, “NWP does not provide two properly maintained and marked escapeways from each underground working place to the surface as required by the Mine Safety and Health Administration,” the report says. Likewise, WIPP’s “water supply and distribution for fire suppression is not reliable and adequate.”
These two findings of significant weakness require DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office and Nuclear Waste Partnership to develop corrective action plans. The Enterprise Assessments report included no management response either from Nuclear Waste Partnership or DOE.
“The Department of Energy Carlsbad Field Office appreciates the independent targeted assessment performed by DOE’s Office of Enterprise Assessment and their recognition of the significant fire protection improvements made to date at WIPP,” a DOE spokesperson in Carlsbad wrote in a Tuesday email. “CBFO and NWP continue to address the two areas of concern identified in the Enterprise Assessment report and have put in place compensatory measures to protect our workforce.”
