Kenneth Fletcher
WC Monitor
3/27/2015
A months-long assessment into last year’s radiological release at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant by a team of experts from national laboratories was unable to determine the cause of the event with “absolute certainty”, but the team did largely confirm the leading theory, according to a report the Department of Energy released late this week. The team found that a mix of incompatible components, including nitrate salts, organic kitty litter absorbent, and the neutralization agent triethanolamine, caused an internal reaction within one drum processed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory before being sent to WIPP. The heat and pressure from the reaction caused the drum to pop open, leading to the Feb. 14, 2014, radiation release at WIPP. The reaction is not believed to be linked to any external events outside the drum. That explanation matches what has been DOE’s main theory for months on the cause of the event.
However, the team “could not determine the cause of the drum breach with absolute certainty because the investigation was hindered by several constraints,” according to a summary of the report. Those limitations include restricted access to the drum due to safety concerns—the team mainly relied on video and photos and a few small samples collected by a remote device. Additionally, while the drum’s contents were “generally known,” the summary notes that “it was not possible to perform another inventory of the drum to get data on the exact reaction mixture.” The exact remediation process for the drum was also not fully documented.
The effort was led by Savannah River National Laboratory and also included scientists from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, and Sandia National Laboratory. The TAT report is expected to soon be followed by DOE’s Accident Investigation Board report into the root cause of the release. “The Department appreciates the time and hard work that our lab experts put into the Technical Assessment Team. This team was asked to determine what mechanisms or chemical reactions could have resulted in the radiological release, and we are reviewing the report and its findings now as we continue working to mitigate the risks of this happening again,” a DOE spokesperson said in a statement.
Los Alamos has been dealing with its own inventory of drums with the same mixture of materials, and more related drums are also being stored at the Waste Control Specialists facility in Texas. “Additional precautions have also been taken to secure other drums with similar nitrate and organic materials as those identified in the report,” the DOE spokesperson said. “WIPP is of critical importance for the Department, and we are committed to completing the waste cleanup and disposal operations with the safety of our workers, the public, and the environment as our top priority.”
Lawmakers: Report One of ‘Multiple Layers of Assessment’
Members of New Mexico’s Congressional delegation said the report was a step forward, and noted that additional reviews of the incident are on the way. “We look forward to reviewing the recommendations of the Accident Investigation Board report in the coming weeks. Similarly, New Mexico Tech will soon begin a peer review of the Technical Assessment Team work, which will provide an independent second look at the science and causes of the release. The multiple layers of assessment are another step in the process of reopening WIPP and ensuring the continued safety of both WIPP and Los Alamos National Lab,” according to a statement by Sens. Tom Udall (D) and Martin Heinrich (D) and Reps. Steve Pearce (R) and Ben Ray Lujan (D). “In the meantime, we will continue doing everything we can to ensure resources are available to resume cleanup at Los Alamos and safely reopen WIPP.”
