Two U.S. Energy Department contractors in fiscal 2019 together cited 48 violations of the New Mexico hazardous waste permit for the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), including incorrectly recording the whereabouts of 250 drums of radioactive waste.
In September, about 250 waste drums shipped to the DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad were incorrectly listed in LANL operations and managing contractor Triad National Security’s operating record as still on site at the lab.
The record-keeping error was among the problems cited during the 12 months ended Sept. 30 by Triad and Los Alamos legacy cleanup prime Newport News Nuclear BWXT-Los Alamos (N3B). The contractors are required by the New Mexico Environment Department to report annually by Dec. 1 on violations of the lab’s state hazardous waste facility permit.
“The task of verifying a waste shipment to WIPP was found to be lacking specific responsible personnel for final operating record verification and updates,” Triad said in the Nov. 25 report, adding the problem is now fixed. The majority of these drums held mixed transuranic waste. The report indicated Triad was in “noncompliance” on this issue from Sept. 18 to Oct. 10, 2019, a period that straddles two fiscal years.
During fiscal 2019, Triad incurred 19 permit infractions. The majority involved failure to complete the required weekly hazardous waste inspection for one reason or another. The weekly inspections are required under the state permit.
Meanwhile, N3B had 29 instances of noncompliance during the fiscal year.
One involved failing to prevent structural damage during a heavy winter snow to two storage domes that shelter waste containers. The snow-related damage happened between late December 2018 and early January 2019. Containers were either moved or covered with tarps to protect them from precipitation coming through holes in the domes, N3B said in the report.
The damaged domes were already slated for refurbishment, and that chore was accelerated with state approval, N3B said. The contractor is also increasing employee coordination to better check on the domes during snow days and holidays.
The report does not mention either contractor being fined for the fiscal 2019 infractions.
