Things are stable once again at the Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico after discovery of a freestanding liquid with low levels of radioactive contamination in the CH-Bay at the complex near Carlsbad, N.M., DOE said via Twitter Saturday night.
The discovery of the liquid at the bottom of a transportation container prompted DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office to evacuate the CH-Bay, a waystation for contact-handled waste on its way to underground disposal areas, and activate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant’s (WIPP) emergency operations center, the agency said in a Tweet about 8 p.m. Mountain Time Saturday.
It was the first of several social media posts on the subject Saturday evening.
By 11 p.m. M.T., DOE said the site is secured, it deactivated the emergency center and there is no risk of radiological release that could endanger the public or environment.
The liquid was discovered during routine waste handling at the CH-Bay.
DOE suspended operations, placed drums back into the TruPact II transuranic waste container and “conducted hand and foot frisks” of everyone in the bay at the time of the unusual event, according to one post. No evidence of contamination was found on any individuals. No radiation alarms went off inside the CH-Bay, there is no evidence of airborne contamination or off-site release that could pose a risk to the environment or public health, DOE said.
The DOE further said access to the CH-Bay has been restricted and plans to address the liquid and determine its source are underway. The agency did not immediately respond to a Sunday email on whether there would be normal underground work shifts on Monday.
WIPP is the nation’s underground geological disposal site for defense-related transuranic waste generated from radiologically-contaminated equipment, debris, soil, clothes or rags. The complex was offline for about three years after an underground radiological leak contaminated the underground in February 2014.
