WIPP EVENT TOWN HALL MEETING SCHEDULED TODAY

The Department of Energy is holding a town hall meeting in Carlsbad, N.M., today to discuss recovery activities after the shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant due to a fire and radiation release. Scheduled to speak are DOE cleanup chief Dave Huizenga, DOE Deputy Under Secretary for Management and Performance David Klaus, DOE Carlsbad Field Office Manager Joe Franco and URS Technical Advisor Fran Williams. Tomorrow, Rep. Steve Pearce (R-N.M,) plans to hold a separate town hall meeting in Carlsbad on the WIPP events. “All New Mexicans, especially local residents with concerns or questions, are strongly encouraged to attend,” Pearce’s office said in an announcement. 

 

Yesterday, WIPP officials announced that follow-up tests of 13 workers present at the site during the release show that exposure levels were “extremely low” and health effects are unlikely. Initial tests last week indicated a low level biological exposure but later tests came up negative for plutonium and americium. “We have sent samples to the Center for Disease Control for validation,” Farok Sharif, president of WIPP contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership, said in a statement. “Biological testing continues on other workers who were at the site following the initial exposure event, and there is always the possibility of positive exposure results from that testing. The ability to detect extremely small amounts of  radioactive material also means there may be false positives that occur throughout the testing process.”