The Energy Department’s prime contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, N.M., should improve certain practices to ensure safe operation of its underground ventilation, according to a recent DOE report.
Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) should also communicate more with union labor at the waste disposal facility, particularly when it comes to expectations for work practices and keeping equipment running properly.
“Nuclear Waste Partnership has developed and implemented revised procedures to improve the rigor associated with ventilation configuration changes in the underground,” and is working on a better dialogue with employees on safety and other issues, NWP spokesman Bobby St. John said in a Monday email.
NWP put the new procedures in place after a September report from the Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments: part of DOE’s office of Enterprise Assessments.
The agency’s assessments office observed work at the disposal facility for underground defense transuranic waste during a week in April and about two weeks in June, and also reviewed numerous WIPP records, and talked to employees The NWP is an AECOM-led venture that runs WIPP for the DOE.
One problem is that NWP lacks “a rigorous process, including clear authority” to open or close mine ventilation curtains, which are movable barriers used to direct airflow.
Confusion over curtain placement once this spring temporarily reduced airflow below the safe level for operation of diesel salt mining equipment, according to the report. The contractor removes salt in order to open up space for waste disposal. Since the incident, NWP has made it clear only the underground engineer can order changes to the ventilation curtains.
The Office of Nuclear Safety and Environmental Assessments also found there’s much opportunity for improvement between management and underground union workers at WIPP. During focus group meetings, union representatives said NWP management doesn’t keep them well informed on safety issues. There is also confusion about the location and condition of underground equipment, the assessment office said.
Emplacement of waste from DOE sites resumed at WIPP in early 2017, following a nearly three-year outage forced by a February 2014 radiation release underground. Salt mining, which clears space for more waste, resumed at WIPP this past January.
