Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
6/13/2014
As investigations continue into the breached drum at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the Department of Energy is scrutinizing five additional Los Alamos waste drums from the same acidic waste stream currently stored at Waste Control Specialists. A leading theory has been that nitrate salts and organic kitty litter in the breached WIPP drum may have contributed to the reaction, but so far Los Alamos National Laboratory has not been able to replicate such a reaction, the New Mexico Environment Department confirmed this week. It now appears that officials are also focusing on the drum’s acid content. NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn told New Mexico lawmakers this week that DOE is taking a “closer look” at the link between the breached drum and the five other containers at WCS, which all contain waste from old LANL evaporator bottoms. “The common link in those six containers is they have highly acidic levels (pH values closer to 0),” NMED spokesman Jim Winchester said in a written response.
It is unclear how the investigation into the high acid content is proceeding: LANL referred request for comment to DOE, which did not specifically comment on the acidic drums. While the cause of the reaction still hasn’t been identified, “DOE has now said it appears the organic kitty litter was not a trigger, but rather a ‘fuel’ for the energetic event,” Winchester said. Tests have been ongoing at Los Alamos and other national labs in an effort to identify the cause of the Feb. 14 radiation release in the WIPP underground, which has shut down the site indefinitely. Entries into the mine have provided samples from the breached Los Alamos waste drum and photos that show evidence of heat damage likely caused by a reaction. “It’s impossible to say how long it could take to determine and confirm the cause of the radiological release,” Winchester said. “DOE does have teams of scientists from across the complex working on this investigation.”
LANL Drums Buried at WCS
After the shutdown of WIPP, DOE began shipping drums from Los Alamos to WCS in Texas in an effort to continue a high profile campaign to remove all aboveground transuranic waste from the site by a June deadline. But those shipments were halted after the discovery of the breached LANL drum more than a month ago, and DOE has since halted shipments of Los Alamos waste. The five acidic containers at WCS are from the same waste stream as the breached drum are part of a group of about 100 nitrate waste bearing containers at the facility. All of the nitrate waste bearing LANL containers at WCS, including the five acidic containers, have been buried to keep temperatures lower.
WCS: ‘Safety is Number One’
At WCS, “safety is job one” in handling the Los Alamos transuranic waste being stored as the company takes “proactive measures” to protect its employees and the environment, WCS President William Lindquist said in a statement.“Initially, WCS took the step of placing the Standard Waste Boxes (SWBs) containing this waste into Modular Concrete Canisters (MCCs), which are made of 65,000 pounds of steel reinforced concrete. Once the SWBs were placed inside the MCCs, any void space was filled with small gravel to provide an additional buffer and prevent the build-up of interior gases. In addition, the interior temperature of the MCCs is monitored,” he said. “All of these safety measures are being coordinated with LANL and DOE and overseen by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ).”
When asked, DOE did not comment directly on the suspect drums. “As part of the ongoing efforts to identify the cause of the February 14 event at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, we are evaluating all possible causes including the waste packages themselves. All possible scenarios will be thoroughly investigated until the cause of the event has been determined,” a DOE spokesperson said in a written response.
DOE added: “WIPP, LANL, and WCS have compensatory measures in place to ensure the people and the environment are protected,” the DOE spokesperson said. “Any waste containers of concern are segregated from other containers at the sites. Personnel continue using a device that can detect heat buildup in any containers of concern on a routine basis. WCS has increased video monitoring and inspections of the waste inventory to identify anything that appears unusual.”
