The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., started disposing of transuranic waste in the new Panel 8 this week, an agency spokesperson confirmed Thursday.
In recent weeks, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) emplaced its final shipment of defense-related transuranic waste in Panel 7, according to DOE.
Panel 7 was contaminated by a February 2014 underground radiation leak, caused by an overheated drum from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico.
In addition to suspending underground WIPP waste disposal for about three years, the lingering contamination from the accident forced underground workers to don extensive personal protective equipment while in Panel 7. Those extra layers will no longer be needed in Panel 8, according to DOE and prime current contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership.
The DOE and its contractor have said that startup of Panel 8, coupled with deploying a new underground ventilation system in 2025, should help WIPP again reach pre-2014 production levels when it was not unheard of for the mine to emplace 700 shipments per year. The biggest year WIPP has seen since the accident was 2018 with 311 shipments received.
