A risk of combustion linked to calcium prompted suspension in November of transuranic waste shipments from the U.S. Energy Department’s Los Alamos National Laboratory to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant further south in New Mexico, according to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB).
Workers discovered calcium metal in certain transuranic material that can ignite under some conditions. Risk of combustion means the shipments would not pass muster with WIPP’s waste acceptance criteria, according to a resident inspectors’ memo to DNFSB Technical Director Christopher Roscetti.
It was not entirely clear at what point in waste preparation the calcium issue was discovered.
As a result, waste generation in the lab’s Plutonium Facility by managing contractor Triad National Security was temporarily curtailed, along with transuranic-waste shipments to WIPP, according to the document.
The suspension lasted just three days, a laboratory spokesperson said in a Thursday email.
“Transuranic waste that contains more than trace calcium as metal is unacceptable under the criteria developed by WIPP,” the LANL spokesperson said. “The Laboratory has a process to remove excess calcium from the waste stream and will demonstrate that we meet the acceptance criteria set forth by WIPP.”
Officials from the semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration, DOE’s Office of Environmental Management, WIPP, Triad, and LANL legacy cleanup contractor Newport News Nuclear BWXT Los Alamos (N3B) huddled on Nov. 12-13 to discuss the situation. They concluded that any risk of sparking ignition was small enough that waste generation and certification could resume, according to the report.
This is the second time in recent months some shipments from Los Alamos to WIPP were held up over concerns about potential combustion risks. In July, shipment of nine containers of transuranic waste stored at Los Alamos Area G was delayed until the containers met WIPP’s waste acceptance standards.
The Energy Department tightened up its waste criteria after a February 2014 accident in which a drum from Los Alamos ruptured in the WIPP underground. That radiation release forced the disposal site out of service for nearly three years.
Contractor Misfiled 250 Drums of Waste During Fiscal 2019
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, including incorrectly recording the whereabouts of 250 drums of radioactive waste.
In September, about 250 waste drums shipped to WIPP 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 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.
The noncompliance “was a self-identified, administrative error related to the Laboratory’s internal operating record,” a Triad National Security spokesperson said in a Thursday email. “The 250 drums were not lost or misplaced.”
Training has been provided to ensure the mistake does not happen again, the spokesperson said.
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.
Repairs to two of the tent-like domes were finished shortly after the problem was detected, an Energy Department spokesperson said in an email. None of the waste containers were damaged, he added.
Both Los Alamos issues were initially reported by the Santa Fe New Mexican.
