The U.S. Energy Department confirmed Tuesday that the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has finished treating 60 potentially combustible containers of radioactive waste, ending ahead of the latest targeted date and setting the stage for the next phase of nitrate salt processing.
The drums contained a mix of remediated nitrate salts and organic kitty litter comparable to the combination that in 2014 blew open a container at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M. releasing radiation and shutting down the underground storage area for nearly three years. That container originated at Los Alamos.
Lab contractor Los Alamos National Security, with support from DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration, has seemed to be quickening its pace of work in recent months after falling behind schedule.
Weapons Complex Monitor had reported recently that a LANL official told the Northern New Mexico Citizens’ Advisory Board on Oct. 25 that 52 of the 60 remediated nitrate salt drums had been processed and the remaining eight should be done before Thanksgiving.
“This is a huge accomplishment,” said NNSA Los Alamos Field Office Manager Steve Goodrum in a DOE press release. “DOE and the lab committed major resources to the unique challenges presented by the RNS waste treatment process. It is a relief to complete this project and apply those resources to other cleanup efforts.”
A source in New Mexico previously said that LANS, a consortium of Bechtel National, AECOM, BWXT Technologies, and the University of California, expects to complete treatment of 29 drums of unremediated nitrate salts in November and be finished with those by the end of March 2018.
LANS had missed earlier schedule targets for processing the remediated and unremediated wastes of June 30 and September 30, 2017, respectively. The DOE news release made no mention of the unremediated nitrate salt drums.
Treatment of the remediated nitrate salt drums began in May at the lab’s Waste Characterization, Reduction, and Repackaging Facility. The waste was removed from drums and mixed with water and the inert substance zeolite to prevent combustion. The treated waste has now been placed into new drums that will be shipped to WIPP at some point in the future.
