The Department of Energy is on track to start operation of a major new underground ventilation system for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico in 2026, managers for DOE and the disposal site contractor said last week.
Construction and integrated system testing is complete for the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS) at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). That was the message from Mark Bollinger, DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager, and Ken Harrawood, Salado Isolation Mining Contractors president and program manager, at a joint presentation in Las Vegas, N.M.
WIPP in the future will house waste from manufacturing plutonium pits by the National Nuclear Security Administration. Currently, WIPP stores canisters of surplus plutonium packaged by the agency at the Savannah River Site.
The Operational readiness phase underway for the ventilation system is underway and WIPP is training operators to run the facility, the WIPP managers said. The 2026 timeline is consistent with what DOE said in 2022 for the $500-million project.
The new ventilation system should triple WIPP’s underground airflow to 540-,000 cubic feet per minute, according to the presentation. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has raised questions about the air monitoring system for the SSCVS.
NEW: Via public records request, I’ve been able to confirm reporting today that a warrant has been issued for DOE deputy asst. secretary of spent fuel and waste disposition Sam Brinton for another luggage theft, this time at Las Vegas’s Harry Reid airport. (cc: @EMPublications)
DOE spent fuel lead Brinton accused of second luggage theft.
by @BenjaminSWeiss, confirming today's reports with warrant from Las Vegas Metro PD.
Waste has been Emplaced! 🚮
We have finally begun emplacing defense-related transuranic (TRU) waste in Panel 8 of #WIPP.
Read more about the waste emplacement here: https://wipp.energy.gov/wipp_news_20221123-2.asp
Editorial: Sam Brinton’s credibility is now an issue 🔓