Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
1/23/2015
In another development in the investigation into the radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, waste processing workers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have identified a procedural change related to potentially volatile drums. The Lab’s waste processing methods have fallen under scrutiny since a LANL drum was found breached in the WIPP underground and linked to the Feb. 14, 2014, radiological release there. The drum was part of a batch of waste found to have high levels of nitrate salts. Last month, workers at LANL’s Waste Characterization, Reduction, and Repackaging Facility noted a procedural change was made two years ago that “removed the requirements to stop waste processing and inform management if, among other things, Class 1 oxidizers (such as nitrates), flammable metals or pyrophoric materials were encountered,” according to a Dec. 19 Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board site representative report.
That procedural change, related to waste processed in the facility’s gloveboxes, was made without an adequate review of the Unreviewed Safety Question Requirements, according to the report. It notes that these types of waste are not being processed anymore as the WCRRF is in cold standby and the current basis for interim operations doesn’t allow those materials to be processed.
LANL’s waste processing program has come under fire by the New Mexico Environment Department, which levied a $36.6 million fine against the lab linked to waste processing violations related to the WIPP release. The National Nuclear Security Administration also cut contractor Los Alamos National Security’s available Fiscal Year 2014 award fee by 90 percent partly in relation to the waste processing issues (see related story). DOE’s accident investigation board into the WIPP events is including the procedural change in its investigation, DOE said when asked for comment on the procedure. “These issues are being looked into by the Accident Investigation Board (AIB) which intends to issue its final report in the near future,” NNSA Los Alamos Field Office spokeswoman Toni Chiri said in a written response. Los Alamos National Security, LLC, the managing contractor at Los Alamos, referred requests for comment to NNSA.
