Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
2/7/2014
Though operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant have been halted indefinitely following a fire underground this week, officials are optimistic that it will not put the Los Alamos National Laboratory transuranic waste campaign milestone at risk. A truck used to move salt at WIPP caught fire underground Feb. 5, and all workers were safety evacuated. Operations were shut down while an accident investigation is conducted, and DOE said it is uncertain when they will resume. As a result, LANL has halted all shipments in its campaign to dispose of 3,706 cubic meters of aboveground transuranic waste by June. “Based on our preliminary conversations with representatives of WIPP, we are cautiously optimistic the suspension of WIPP processing will not delay the LANL TRU Waste Campaign,” Jim Winchester, a spokesman for the New Mexico Environment Department, said in a written response. “We continue to remain in close contact with WIPP about when operations will resume. Despite this incident, WIPP has a proven track record and we continue to have the utmost confidence in their operations and regulatory compliance.”
One factor that may soften the impact of the unexpected shutdown is that WIPP’s annual extended maintenance outage was scheduled to begin on Feb. 14 and last until March 10, which would have suspended shipments and disposal operations anyway. “Due to the upcoming annual WIPP maintenance evolution, scheduled Feb. 14 to March 10, we anticipate that this event will impact only a limited number of shipments,” DOE Carlsbad Field Office spokeswoman Deb Gill said in a written response. But DOE Carlsbad spokesman Roger Nelson said in a press conference immediately following the event: “That maintenance outage will likely be affected,” adding, “How, I can’t speculate at this point in time. But an event of this magnitude will certainly have some effect on the planned maintenance.”
DOE is currently preparing to conduct an accident assessment to determine when WIPP may reopen. “WIPP personnel continue to work through plans and procedures to make sure the facility is ready to resume normal operations when that occurs,” Gill said. “The Department of Energy (DOE) will convene an investigation team comprised of Federal subject matter experts to be determined. WIPP will resume normal operations when it is determined by DOE authorities and the WIPP Management and Operating Contractor that it is appropriate to do so.”
LANL Shipments Were Ahead of Schedule
While sites across the complex are shipping waste to WIPP, the Department’s priority since 2011 has been the Los Alamos campaign. LANL aims to have the aboveground legacy waste shipped to WIPP under an accelerated schedule as part of a framework agreement developed with the state of New Mexico. The Lab has been ahead in its shipping schedule, and still hopes to still meet its June goal as long as WIPP reopens on or before March 10. “We have already exceeded our shipping goal for this February and fully expect to meet our shipping goal for March,” LANL spokesman Matt Nerzig said in a written response. “The Lab has surpassed shipping goals for the 3706 TRU Waste Campaign since the project began, exceeding our goals for nine consecutive quarters.”
No Waste in Vicinity of WIPP Fire
While the exact cause of the fire is still unknown, it started at a truck used to move only salt as part of WIPP’s mining operations. It did not occur near any areas where waste is stored.“We believe that it happened in the north end of the mine near where the salt shaft goes from the surface to the underground. There is an underground station called the salt station with a grading onto which the salt is dumped from the bed of the truck,” Nelson said.
All underground workers were evacuated and accounted for, Nelson said, and several were taken to a local hospital were they were treated for smoke inhalation and released. “The response was timely and proportionate,” Nelson said. Ventilation to the mine was subsequently shut off to control the fire, and a mine rescue team reentered the mine the following day and confirmed that the fire was extinguished. “The area with the vehicle was isolated, and limited ventilation has been reestablished in the underground,” according to Gill.
