The Energy Department’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in New Mexico received 115 shipments of transuranic defense waste during the first five months of 2019.
Based on 21.5 calendar weeks through May 31, that is an average of 5.4 shipments per week. By contrast, the facility received 138 shipments for the first five months of 2018, or about 6.5 shipments per week.
The figures here are derived by taking the number of shipments between Jan. 1 and May 31, as listed on WIPP’s public database, and dividing the figure by 21.5 weeks.
The number of weekly shipments is impacted by outage periods when no waste is received due to maintenance at WIPP, holidays, or bad weather.
For example, if the Energy Department only accepted waste for 40 weeks out of the year its weekly rate would presumably be the total number of shipments divided by 40, rather than 52. Last August, DOE said it was averaging between seven and eight shipments per week.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant received only one shipment during January, which included a maintenance outage and two federal holidays. But shipments bounced back with 35 in February. That was followed by 23 shipments in March, despite WIPP being closed a couple days by high winds; 24 shipments in April; and 32 shipments in May.
The annual WIPP maintenance outage began Jan. 7 and was completed during the first week in February. That is the primary reason for the dip in shipments, Donavan Mager, spokesman for WIPP operations contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership, said by email. Inclement weather at generator sites also played a role, he said.
