The Department of Energy’s Hanford Site in Washington state lifted a take cover order about four hours after workers detected strange odors Wednesday morning in the 200 West Area of the cleanup complex.
Crews investigating reports of odors near the Reduction Oxidation (REDOX) plant found no evidence of radiation or a chemical release near the area and the order was completely lifted about 12:20 p.m. Pacific Time, according to a DOE spokesperson.
“Employees who smelled the odors are encouraged to visit the Hanford onsite medical provider if they have concerns,” according to a post on the Hanford emergency operations center website.
Two crews, one doing “non-intrusive ground scanning to check for subsurface materials in preparation for excavation work, and another, doing well drilling work, simultaneously smelled odors near the REDOX facility” in the 200 West Area at about 8:30 a.m., according to the website. An order was issued instructing staff in the vicinity to take cover inside.
Workers around the REDOX facility, which processed approximately 24,000 tons of uranium fuel rods in the 1950s and 1960s, as well as the adjacent 222-S Laboratory, were affected by the temporary safety lockdown, according to DOE.
No injuries had been reported as a result of the Wednesday incident as of Friday morning, a DOE spokesperson told Weapons Complex Monitor.
The New Mexico Environment Department is reviewing plans by the Department of Energy and its prime contractor for two new underground disposal panels at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad.
The Amentum-led Nuclear Waste Partnership, which includes BXW Technologies, presented information on waste disposal units, Panels 11 and 12, during a public meeting Thursday in Carlsbad.
The contractor and DOE filed a Class 3 modification request for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) state hazardous waste facility permit on July 30.
Panels 1-6 have been filled with defense-related transuranic waste and permanently closed under the current permit requirements, according to the 130-page document. Disposal is taking place in Panel 7, while Panel 8 construction is nearing completion with plans to start waste emplacement in May 2022. Panel 8 could be filled by August 2025 and WIPP could start filling Panel 11 then, under the request.
Generally underground panels take about 30 months to develop and then another 30 months to fill, according to the permit request. The areas designated as Panels 9 and 10 provide operational support, such as transport and ventilation, according to the document.
But nuclear critics in New Mexico are wary about infrastructure projects that might extend WIPP operation well past the original 2024 retirement date. New Mexico is considering a 10-year extension to the existing permit for the disposal facility, which technically expired in December but remains in effect.
Written comments on the panel must be received by Ricardo Maestas of the New Mexico Environment Department, [email protected], no later than 5 p.m. M.T. on Oct. 4.
A wildfire that started last week at the Nevada National Security Site was still burning Thursday evening although it was “greatly diminished” from the day before, the National Nuclear Security Administration site said in a press release.
The Nevada National Security Site (NNSS) Fire & Rescue team will continue to monitor the fire, according to the latest press release from the site. “The fire is not burning, and has not burned, in any contaminated areas,” according to the release. “There is no off-site risk to the public. No structures or assets are in danger. No injuries have been reported.”
As of Wednesday, the Southern Bench fire, as it is known, had burned roughly 1,000 acres, the Department of Energy site said in a press release, making it a fraction of the size of the Cherrywood fire that burned parts of 35,000 acres in and around the security complex, which is roughly the size of Rhode Island.
