A container of transuranic waste from the Department of Energy’s Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico was put underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in March without a required flammable gas analysis, a federal safety group said.
Analysis of the omitted screening for the Los Alamos container is nearly done, said a DOE spokesperson on Friday, adding that limited shipments from Idaho National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) should resume next week.
The DOE spokesperson said in a Friday email that liquid found in a TRUPACT shipping container from Idaho is still under investigation. As for the Los Alamos drum problem, flammable gas analysis “has resumed at all TRU waste generator sites” and corrective actions will be taken.
The mistake on the Los Alamos drum was discovered by the Central Characterization Program for DOE’s WIPP prime, Nuclear Waste Partnership. The development led to a mandatory worker evacuation, suspension of waste handling, and implementation of a response plan within 10 days, according to a monthly report on WIPP operations from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB).
The analysis, required by both DOE and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, “determines the concentration of flammable gas/volatile organic compounds in the headspace of a waste container intended for shipment to WIPP,” according to the one-page DNFSB document. The DOE and contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership are doing a root cause analysis.
Upon further review, it was determined the contents of the emplaced waste container did not pose a fire risk, according to the DNFSB report, dated April 1. Nuclear Waste Partnership has since exited the limited operating condition.
More recently, on Saturday April 9, a problem was discovered with a container shipped to WIPP from Idaho National Laboratory. A freestanding liquid with low levels of radioactive contamination was discovered at the bottom of a container inside the CH-Bay, which was evacuated.
DOE said via Twitter that no workers were exposed to radiation and there was no threat to the public as a result.
