The Department of Energy’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M., continues to study fire safety and other potential hazards that might arise from use of electric vehicles powered by big lithium-ion batteries, a federal safety panel said this month.
“These hazards include fire, smoke, and combustion products, including hydrogen fluoride associated with the large lithium-ion batteries,” according to a staff report from the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (DNFSB).
These are different from risks from diesel powered vehicles and electric vehicles not powered by lithium-ion batteries, DNFSB said in the report, dated Feb. 3 and posted recently on the board website.
The DOE has pushed the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to increase use of electric vehicles both on the surface, to reduce carbon emissions associated with fossil fuels, and in the underground workers where diesel fumes can potentially worsen air quality for workers.
The agency’s strategic vision for WIPP calls for going to either “zero emission” electric battery vehicles or very low-emission Tier IV diesel-powered equipment by 2032. Tier IV marks the strictest Environmental Protection Agency standards for off-highway diesel equipment.
In June 2022, WIPP and its then prime contractor, Amentum-led Nuclear Waste Partnership, postponed use of three lithium-ion powered haul trucks pending completion of a fire hazard analysis.
The DOE is also working with Carlsbad City Council on a $500,000 grant to set up five local electric vehicle charging stations utilizing solar power. The charging stations will be leased for a five-year period and will be strategically located throughout the city, according to a Feb. 14 Carlsbad City Council information package.
