NM - Leak at WIPP Nuclear Waste Storage Site - heavy metal catalyst reaction?

[Emily]

Re: NM - Leak at WIPP Nuclear Waste Storage Site - Released emails indicate incompatible organic materials were in waste containers

Re: NM - Leak at WIPP Nuclear Waste Storage Site - Released emails indicate incompatible organic materials were in waste containers

http://www.artesianews.com/926939/officials-eye-six-barrels-tied-to-wipp-leak.html

Officials eye six barrels tied to WIPP leak

SANTA FE (AP) ? Scientists investigating a mysterious radiation leak at the federal government?s underground nuclear waste dump have identified five other potentially explosive containers of waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory that are being stored at a site in West Texas, New Mexico Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn told a legislative panel Tuesday.
Flynn told lawmakers that scientists have been unable to replicate the chemical event believed to have a caused a drum to breach at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) on Feb. 14, contaminating 22 workers. But they have tied the barrel to a waste stream from Los Alamos with an unusually high acid level, he said. ?

 

[Emily]

Re: NM - Leak at WIPP Nuclear Waste Storage Site - Unusually high acid levels in drums the latest suspect

Re: NM - Leak at WIPP Nuclear Waste Storage Site - Unusually high acid levels in drums the latest suspect

http://www.ladailypost.com/content/wipp-plans-ongoing-evaluate-all-drums-panel-7-room-7

WIPP: Plans Ongoing to Evaluate All Drums in Panel 7, Room 7
Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on June 29, 2014 - 10:17am

 

[Emily]

Re: NM - Leak at WIPP Nuclear Waste Storage Site - heavy metal catalyst reaction?

http://www.nextgov.com/defense/whats-brewin/2014/07/did-misplaced-glove-cause-nuke-waste-dump-fire/89738/

Did a Misplaced Glove Cause Nuke Waste Dump Fire?

Nan Sauer, associate director for chemistry, life and Earth sciences at Los Alamos National Laboratory, told the New Mexico Legislature?s Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee the container ?held a volatile mix: a lead-laden glove, highly acidic waste, organic kitty litter and trace metal residue,? which ripped open the container stored in the WIPP ? the country?s only storage site for waste generated during the development of nuclear weapons.

Ryan Flynn, secretary for the New Mexico Environment Department, said ?these were materials that were mixed that should not have been mixed together.?...

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/new-theory-wipp-leak-linked-to-glove-in-waste-drum/article_1ca42d4c-ca3c-5e85-bc35-e519f0315747.html

New theory: WIPP leak linked to glove in waste drum
The incident at WIPP has spurred LANL to study its own protocols for waste management, Sauer said.

?Did our workers have adequate information to do the work that they needed to do?? she asked. ?Did we look at all the nuances associated with the remediation of this waste so that we were sure that we were compliant??

Ryan Flynn, Gov. Susana Martinez?s Cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Environment Department, said responsibility for the contents of the waste drum rests with LANL and WIPP. He said he expects enforcement actions against both U.S. Department of Energy sites, which operate under state permits...

Wow. Policy didn't take into account heavy metal catalyst chemistry? This is truly alarming.