WIPP Updates

me | 2/28/2014 | self

[logi_cal869]

I just sent an email to someone outlining some 'odd things' about the WIPP 'radiological event'.

Most following it know the best sources (perhaps a bit fringe, but detail-oriented nevertheless) are:

https://www.radcast.org/updates-on-wipp/ and http://pissinontheroses.blogspot.com/

I'm avoiding speculation on radiation releases (for those that want to piss on my 'histrionics'), just noting some really large discrepancies in what's been released to-date, as it's a template for future radiological events.

Here is the base content of the email:

Sorry for the length. No way to condense this further as I have my own analysis below not really elaborated in the linked blogs.

First, on the "Exhaust System" at WIPP: That last email contained a couple of links about the site's systems, in particular the so-called 'exhaust system'.

The latest reports put the systems 'emergency response' at 30 seconds to a minute based on feedback from Continuous Airflow Measurement (CAM) sensors.

From this report dated March 3, 2011:

"Although EPA determined that NESHAP monitoring is not needed for disposal activities..."

NESHAP is National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants . Part H, as their voluntary MOU with EPA outlines, can be found here.

Recall, again, after reading that that EPA determined NESHAP monitoring is not needed for WIPP.

On the exhaust specifications:

The exhaust air from the underground facility is continually sampled at Station A, which is located approximately 21 feet, or 1½ shaft diameters, below ground level in the exhaust shaft (see Fig. 1).

That's a 14-foot diameter exhaust stack. I'll come back to that.

The nominal velocities of the return air in the upper exhaust shaft are 2.0 m/s, 8.6 m/s, and 13.3 m/s to 17.9 m/s for the filtration, alternate, and normal ventilation modes, respectively ([9], Section 2.1)

I calculated that's 255 cubic meters/second. If the release was 30 seconds flat, that's 7650 cubic meters of air expelled before filtration kicked in.

POTR blog asserts 10,000 cubic meters of air expelled (Note: I still question their Bq results):

(1) The DOE WIPP site released a Plutonium Cloud on Valentine's Day which we calculate to have been 330,000,000 Becquerel in size, released over an approximate 30 second period in an estimated 10,000 cubic meters of air. All of which rapidly shot Northwest towards Denver. We also see a significant risk of additional explosions and more significant releases (see more info below)

(Ok. That's an error rate that's not 'huge', but I think they were calculating based on volume from a different source. You have my source above (also here). I think the 2 numbers are close enough. Basically they're asserting WIPP's exhaust ventilation rates 20,000 cubic meters/minute, or 25% more than my results. If that data exists elsewhere, I didn't find it. Even if we conservatively estimated a 25% Error in their calculations, it still pales, you know?)

What's now asserted is that the exhaust didn't switch to filtration mode in 30 seconds, but between 5-20 minutes based on 'reliable source inside'.

Based on the new information, and the historically credible nature of the provider, we are revising the Plutonium release event time estimate to have occurred over a period of 5 to 20 minutes (if not longer). This means that the volumetric size of the Plutonium Cloud was 10 to maybe 100 TIMES larger than previously calculated. We will follow up with calculations in the near future.

Worse, the press conference yesterday had Farok Sharif, Project Manager for the Nuclear Waste Partnership (the contractor that operates the site) speaking of "The Recovery Plan" (starting at 1:40 here):

"...this is the scaffolding we have set up...The first thing that we want to do is to stabilize the mine ventilation system...we actually built mockups before they showed up onsite, to make sure that once we establish this that the facility is going to work..."

That statement should be a very big red flag, ya know? The only reason to 'stabilize the ventilation system' is if it could have been damaged. It could only have been damaged from an explosion. An explosive event might have prevented the automated system from going into 'filtration mode' immediately in 'real time', just like the 'inside source' asserts. Explosive how? Well, the type of 'transuranic waste' deposited at WIPP is similar to what's in the tanks at Hanford and can, potentially, product hydrogen & methane, just as the tanks at Hanford have (they've 'burped' before; I just can't imagine they didn't think of this at WIPP before presuming, of course, that's what happened. IMHO, it's the only thing that explains the concentrations of airborne particles).

On the "contaminated workers":

From a WIPP news release via CNN:

"An air monitor at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant detected the spike in an isolated area half a mile below the ground."

That's interesting, as the only air monitors I find details on are the 3 CAMS at the exhaust port, at Station A, 21 feet from the exhaust port exit.

Regarding 'radiological releases' and 'human contamination, originally the news releases from WIPP outlined the day FOLLOWING the 'event' as follows:

"Department of Energy Officials said that all non-essential personnel were allowed to return home this evening after radioactive tests resulted in the employees testing negative for contamination."

By the 28th, 'biological assay' tests were finally returned:

"Employees present the night of the event were checked for any external contamination before being allowed to leave the site. The site’s Radiological Control Program collected biological samples from each employee to check for possible exposure from inhaling airborne radioactive particles.

The baker’s dozen tested positive in that test, a bioassay. A bioassay of this type is a radiological assessment of internal exposure to radioactive materials. They are taken when contamination from outside the body is suspected to have been inhaled or ingested."

Recall the 'night of the event' refers to the evening of the 14th/early morning of the 15th. The 'initial tests' were returned from the lab today, the 28th. Well, gee...there are testing standards for 'Bio-assay' tests. See here and here and here (these papers from Idaho State University on Radiation Safety and Training are based on the same regs that bind WIPP)

"A bioassay is required whenever personal contamination or injury caused by a contaminated object occurs, or if airborne radioactivity may have been inhaled"

and

"The optimum time for performing a bioassay is within a few days after a potential exposure."

Well, they must have felt something much more serious than what they were dishing out to the public must have happened to have what can only be defined as 'an abundance of caution' to perform a bio-assay the SAME DAY as the incident. Read "SERIOUS RADIOLOGICAL EVENT" endangering workers (public be damned). As for the lab tests themselves:

"Laboratory testing may also be performed to determine if radioactive materials have been absorbed, ingested, or inhaled. This typically involves collecting samples of urine (and sometimes blood); it can determine the presence of a particular radioisotope, the unstable, radioactive form of an element such as iodine-131, and can be helpful in making treatment decisions. In addition, laboratories can perform tests that would detect any biological effects from exposure, such as a drop in the number of blood cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets) or abnormalities in chromosomes, which would be useful in assessing short- or long-term damage from radiation. Currently, few laboratories are certified to test human samples for radioactive atoms or nuclides (radionuclides); they include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a few public health laboratories, and one reference laboratory. In addition, only a few types of radionuclides can be identified with current testing methods. However, the CDC is in the process of developing a new urine test to determine whether a person has radionuclides in their body and, if so, what type and how much is present. Results from the test would help to identify those exposed, evaluate their risk of complications from the exposure, and help make treatment decisions. The goal of CDC's program, called Urine Radionuclide Screen (URS), is to have the capability to detect and measure at least 20 different radio-nuclides that are considered to be high-priority and to provide results in 24 hours rather than the current 2-3 days."

(You might also want to take a gander at this report, "Baseline Measurements of Internally Deposited Radionuclides in the U.S. Population"...it exposes the fact that no reliable technique yet existed in 2006 to measure levels of ingested/inhaled radiological contamination,

"High quality urinary excretion and blood assay data on plutonium and uranium do not exist for the general U.S. population. Moreover, classical bioassay monitoring programs within the U.S. lack the necessary isotope detection sensitivity to even comply with the latest U.S. Department of Energy implementation of federal regulation 10CFR 835 for in vitro bioassay monitoring of plutonium."

...I can't find that these tests yet exist.)

Didja catch that? First off, the CDC's test, "Urine Radionuclide Screen" is not developed yet. The passage above asserts that a radiological urinalysis 'bioassay' can be performed in 2-3 days....

...it took them FOURTEEN DAYS to notify the public that the workers had received internal contamination. Did the workers get their notifications in 2-3 days, or not? That's presuming it was just a 'urine test', which doesn't jive with the links above for bioassay testing for plutonium contamination, unless they were just 'going through the motions' for the workers. There are only 2 labs that can perform "Cytogenetic Biodosimetry": Oak Ridge National Laboratory & Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute in Bethesda, Md. Invasive bioassay can include swab from the airway or blood sample, as I understand it. Just in case I got it wrong, I found this : (snippet of Table on page 4)

Assessment Method	Time for Analysis	Estimate cost per sample
cytogenetics (i.e., 20-50 metaphase triage; 1000 metaphase analysis)	>3 days	$500-3,000

And a bunch of science on making Cytogenetic Biodosimetry more efficient for testing population in the event of a mass-casualty nuclear event. Net result on the 'Contaminated Workers':

Why the additional delay to notifying the public of the results of testing that is asserted to take only 2-3 days?

Final statement: "The public is safe."

Latest 'news' prior to today (source...not high on my list as being 'unbiased')

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/26/us/nuclear-waste-repository-set-to-reopen-after-leak.html?_r=3 Latest 2/28:

Onsite and nearfield tests returnedFrom RSOE EDIS - Emergency and Disaster Information Service, this is the listing of information provided on the 'event':

And the absolutely latest just before I hit 'send':

http://enenews.com/most-likely-a-worst-case-scenario-at-wipp-npr-huge-chunk-of-salt-believed-to-have-crushed-drums-of-radioactive-waste-after-falling-from-ceiling-abc-investigators-now-admit-that-prob

[logi_cal869]

I hope I didn't break any links editing all the html between the email body & here. As best I can tell they're all good without clicking on all of them.

I searched and the last post I found on WIPP was from the 21st with WIPP as a keyword and title. I'm providing this as data to those who care to have heads above the sand, so-to-speak...I can't rightly say this post is 'news', so it's in chat.

[Gaikokujin]

Collected all I could found on this subject. Does not look good: http://justpaste.it/ejs9

[logi_cal869]

FWIW, I found a transcript of the Feb. 20 WIPP Town Hall Meeting:

http://nukeprofessional.blogspot.fr/2014/02/pro-nukers-are-proud-of-high-level.html

Watching the meeting was painful; reading the transcript of the QnA is almost frightening. Also for what it's worth, there's a comment by one of the site folks that put the ventilation system flow rate at 425,000 cubic feet/minute, which converts to just over 12,000 cubic meters/minute, so prior analysis is just a bit skewed since POTR blog is using the 20,000 cubic meter/minute figure (no idea where they got that data).

As well, there's a comment about the type of waste being stored at WIPP; it will be interesting to see if this is verified, as it could genuinely fit the pieces for the chain of events that led to the radiation release (which I theorize might have been hydrogen explosion, ceiling collapse, radiation release). It's been documented that the designated stored/buried waste at Los Alamos (the same waste they feared for during the wildfires there) was dug up sent to WIPP already.

Oh, and in case you missed it:

Los Alamos National Laboratory Develops “Quick to WIPP” Strategy, dated February 23, 2003:

An analysis of the 9,100 cubic meters of stored CH-TRU waste revealed that 400 cubic meters or 4.5% of the inventory represented 61% of the risk. The analysis further showed that this 400 cubic meters was contained in only 2,000 drums.

These facts and the question “How can the disposition of this waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) be accelerated?” formed the genesis of LANL’s Quick to WIPP initiative.

Note: They refer to these 2000 drums as high-wattage.

The solution is found in a change in the methodology used to the meet the NRC 5% limitation. Specifically it includes the following.

1) Once the drums are loaded into the inner confinement vessel (ICV) of the TRUPACTII and the ICV is sealed a vacuum is applied. Since each drum is vented the vacuum is in turn applied to the drums themselves. This purges the drums of most of the hydrogen that have accumulated during storage and air allowing an initial flammable gas concentration approaching zero.

2) The ICV and accordingly the drums themselves are then backfilled with nitrogen, an inert gas. This is an added safety measure for which formal credit is not taken.

3) The 5-day clock starts upon completion of the vacuum process. Twenty-four hours are allowed for the backfilling of the ICV, leak testing, and handling of the loaded TRUPACT-IIs. Two days are then allowed for transit from LANL to WIPP and finally twenty-four hours are allowed for venting of the ICV and accordingly the drums upon arrival at WIPP. An extra twenty-four hours are included as a margin of safety. This allows only five days for flammable gas accumulation versus the 60 days currently allowed.

Oh, I'm sure there will still be doubting-thomases out there about hydrogen-producing waste drums at WIPP. From the document above:

8) The first of the 2,000 Quick to WIPP drums were successfully shipped from LANL to WIPP in December 2002. Plans call for all 2,000 drums to have been shipped by the end of fiscal year 2004.

The real question is whether or not the vented waste drums were placed within WIPP inside or removed from their TRUPACT-II inner containment vessel (ICV) and how WIPP was designed to mitigate flammable/explosive gas. Some (or most) of those drums have been in the sealed panels for at least 10 years, many generating hydrogen...

[logi_cal869]

Thanks for that link. Ironically, I found it also at NETC forum. And I thought it was only me that noticed all the NETC detectors going off east of Texas (correction: STILL going off)...

Yes, they’re all Gamma-based, but they seem to be reacting to something, and the isotopes alleged to be released seem to fit the bill. Ironically, it was a malfunctioning detector in Evansville, IN that got my attention, as I periodically go there to see ‘trends’.

You’d think somewhere out there there’s a forum where people are posting their Alpha readings; I can’t find it.

Also, the latest seems to indicate that the filters didn’t kick in at WIPP for 33 minutes:

http://pissinontheroses.blogspot.com/2014/03/wipp-math-alert-33-minute-delay-in-hepa.html

[logi_cal869]

I still can't believe those few following this are still 'fringe'...
WIPP Expert: Nuclear waste is getting out above ground — Plutonium / Americium found in “every single worker” on site when leak began — New Mexico officials ‘totally unsatisfied’ with lack of info from Feds

Interview with WIPP expert Don Hancock of Southwest Research and Information Center, Nuclear Hotseat with Libbe HaLevy, Mar. 4, 2014:

"Hancock: They still have amounts of radiation that they’re reading in the underground at WIPP. The DoE is saying that the filter system is 99.97% effective. We don’t know that that’s true because we don’t have laboratory results back, how much radioactivity those filters are actually catching. We are a long way from having all the sampling we need in the above ground to know how much is out. We can presume that minute amounts can still be coming out through the filter system even if the filter system is working perfectly. The filter system doesn’t work 100% perfect — 99.97%, if it is working that well is good, but that means there’s 0.03% that is getting out. So it will be a continuing problem until all of the contamination, both underground and above ground is cleaned up. [...] It’s a continuing potential threat to people for a long time to come.

Hancock (at 3:00 in): Apparently every single worker on the site when the alarm was triggered late night on Valentine’s Day Feb. 14 received internal dose […] confirmed internal radiation. So that bodes the possibility of some serious health consequences.

Hancock (at 11:00 in): The government has not been accurate in what it has said [….] The information flow has been bad. I know of nobody that thinks the information flow has been good. I was just on the phone in the last half hour with the New Mexico secretary of the environment department, the state official who is most responsible for the State’s activities at the WIPP site, and he was saying he is still totally unsatisfied with the lack of information the DoE is giving him and his regulatory agency — not to mention the further lack of information that the public is getting.

Note: The NMED Secretary is Ryan Flynn, fwiw, only confirmed for the job Feb. 18 of this year. As well, the reason that lab tests aren't back from the filter samples is that workers were not permitted to collect the filters for 2 weeks (no contingency plan in the event of a radiation emergency to collect WIPP underground samples for radionuclide isotope identification).

Any why haven't they sent in a drone yet to see what damage they're dealing with? TEPCO got more heat over their slow response than this.

Can it possibly be because this project got Bama's ARRA 'Recovery Act' monies and was cited among the stats "jobs saved or created"? (I have saved those files. If anyone needs that citation, Freep mail me)

I'm also going to remind that this site (WIPP) was being groomed for storing high-level nuclear waste (spent fuel rod casks...I have all those links & files, too) just late this last year and that one of Bama's 'noted accomplishments' was cancelling Yucca Mountain, another Law that the administration chose to not be held to...though that's been challenged...

Oh, and not that it means anything, but NMED Secretary Ryan Flynn is a 2001 graduate of Harvard University, is a lawyer and has no background in environment, save for his work experience noted here:

Prior to becoming Cabinet Secretary, Flynn served as the Environment Department’s General Counsel and Legislative Coordinator. Before joining the Environment Department, Flynn worked for the Modrall Sperling law firm. At Modrall Sperling, he worked in the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Renewable Energy practice groups

So, between DOE and Attorney Flynn, the residents of New Mexico are 'well-covered' (/s). Note also that some of the contaminated workers were 'union' and the Union isn't getting any answers either; how this plays out should be interesting, so say the least...

[logi_cal869]

Due to my accused 'histrionics' & low level of interest, I'm not posting 'breaking news' updates or any new posts at all on the 'WIPP Radiation Event". This thread got the amount of traffic I thought it would. All updates will be as replies here.

Update 3/6:

WIPP Is Still The Best and Only Choice For Nuclear Waste

It's really quite the piece of propaganda. Anyone doubting how much money is at stake if WIPP is permanently shuttered should use their own time to research. For the record, the contributor to the Forbes article above is a staunch pro-nuclear Cap & Trade 'climate alarmist', 'radiation-is-safe-for-you' propaganda shill and last year called Vermont citizens 'stupid' for shuttering Yankee Nuclear Plant after >40 years of operation (BWR-4 Reactor/MK-I Containment, same design as Fukushima's Units 2, 3, 4 & 5).

Also, by the way, James Conca lists CEMRC (Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center) as his former post as Director...that's the same outfit charged with maintaining/sampling the radiation monitors around WIPP.

(nothing to see here...Conca's just coming out swinging in defense of WIPP just because...) /s

[logi_cal869]

Another 3/6 Update:

Department of Energy: Follow-up testing shows no health risk for exposed WIPP employees

Department officials said Wednesday afternoon that despite many unknowns, the employees are unlikely to experience any adverse health effects.

Ok. Good news if it's true. But take a look at the test results from the so-called 'filters' in this report:

and weigh those numbers with the cherry-picked & muted measurements and anti-histrionic propaganda statements such as,

The amount of radiation released into the environment was a million times less than any EPA action levels, but to hear the outcry you’d think it was Chernobyl.

According to this, the author cites filters removed 2/16 as having

"According to CEMRC, the measured levels were more than 50 times less than the EPA action level of 37 Bq (0.001 microcurie).

"50 times less"? Really? Go back and look at the chart image. That equates to a level of 0.74 Bq. Which sample are they referring to? Note: Completely ignoring the first samples which bracket the "unfiltered release" period of the Exhaust Vent. Of course, this presumes I'm not totally confused as to the measured radiation vs. EPA 'action levels'. It could be referring to the Pu239 level of .63 Bq. But what of the level on the filter removed on the 15th? You know, if my prior statement was accurate, the level that's almost 1000 times the EPA Action Level?

The obfuscation ongoing on this 'WIPP Radiation-event' is incredible.

Update 2: At least one blogger concurs with my assertion that the radiation was released by more than just a 'ceiling collapse'.

There's also a serious assertion that the 'Exhaust Filtration' did not kick in either within 39 seconds nor automatically.

CERMC BACKS OFF ASSERTION THAT WIPP HEPA FILTERS SHIFTED OVER TO FILTRATION 'IN BRIEF MOMENTS',

As a footnote: I sincerely hope all the obfuscation is much-ado-about-nothing, that the employees genuinely tested 'negative' and the levels are what the public has been told. But the pattern is all-to-familiar and I have federal documents that outline 'paying off residents' to get sites like this installed, that States 'have no rights to dictate safety (such as closing sites/plants when safety is suspect) and 'pacifying the population' in the event of an 'incident'. My boy's in the 'shadow'; I, for one, give a damn.

-cynicus-

[logi_cal869]

I'm not sure I posted this prior, but here are the Ventilation System Sampling Results from 2/14-3/9/2014.

The readings between A & B stations are telling, as they indicated a much LONGER interval of 'unfiltered exhaust air' than the alleged 30 seconds, on which they make their basis arguments for 'no effect on health' (specifically, note the fact that the highest reading at Station B is the SECOND sample that morning, hours after HEPA was supposed to kick in).

One thought: Following the Radiological Incident and the quite rapid realization that no worker personnel were underground, why the hell didn't they shut off the ventilation system???

This might be why (check out Figure 3-2). Just wondering out loud if it isn't such a good idea to pack all that 'trans-uranic lab waste' in those Panels as tightly as pictured, waste described as:

Basically just trash from weapons complex work including discarded PPE or cleanup activities

I can't find a single reference to a technical reason why the ventilation system wasn't shut off 'in the unlikely event of an underground radioactive release'.

In case anyone is curious, here are the technical specs of the WIPP Ventilation System & its operation.

In the unlikely event of an underground radioactive release, the ventilation system is either automatically or manually shifted to a filtration mode. The airflow demand during filtration mode decreases to 28m³/s (60,000 cfm). The shift consists of the main fans being turned off and one of the three 175 kW (235 hp) centrifugal standby filtration fans started. A series of isolation dampers diverts the air through the filtration system where the air is routed through a series of high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters.

[logi_cal869]

I found something.

See here, from 2/5/2014:

Fire breaks out underground at Carlsbad's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; 6 treated for smoke inhalation

WIPP immediately discontinued all operations, including the receipts of nuclear waste from cleanup sites around the country, and no timetable has been set for re-entry into the underground.

Power to the underground ventilation system was suspended and remains shut off. All shipments headed to WIPP have been halted, Nelson said.

(U.S. Department of Energy spokesman Roger Nelson)

Maybe someone can go ask why they didn't shut off the power to the ventilation system once they realized it was venting something a bit more dangerous than smoke this time...

[logi_cal869]

It's ironic that I was on the same track as this post at POTR blog:

The Explosive Plutonium Release At WIPP Likely Will Be Tied to the 2/14/14 Closure of a Ventilation Regulator In 707 Bulkhead

I had found the report after my last post & downloaded the file (slow download) but didn't read it yet.

The bottom line is the only public explanation WIPP's operators give for running the ventilation system 24/7 is for 'diesel engine operation' (venting fumes & Carbon Monoxide).

However, anyone familiar with the waste storage knows that the waste drums are 'vented' as a percentage of the waste does generate explosive gases. Not sure how they planned to mitigate that, as it's impossible to find that discussion in any engineering documents as far back as the '90s. It's fairly common knowledge that salt behaves like a plastic and can trap at least Methane & Helium, but that's under natural processes in a salt formation, not in a nuclear waste panel sealed off manually post-mining. It seems logical that the ventilation system serves a secondary purpose to vent explosive methane & hydrogen as byproducts of the stored waste. It also seems logical that a closed bulkhead would trap the gases.

It's all a bit moot, though, as a salt cavern cannot be decontaminated. Publicly they keep talking up 'how important WIPP is' but there's no way workers can safely work in that mine now, sans maybe stuffing the last of the shipped waste currently being stored in the open due to the fact the en-route shipments have continued to arrive at the facility. They might be able to accomplish that in full protective gear, but the facility is contaminated.

I think the taxpaying public deserves to know what to expect and why they refuse to own up to the reality.

One more thing: Everyone defending WIPP says the waste is 'just gloves & trash' & 'byproducts of lab work' and is 'safe to store'. Environment Department Fines WIPP $2.4 Million for Waste Analysis Failure, Requests More information on Improperly Disposed Waste. Uh-huh:

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) today (August 31, 2004) issued a compliance order to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for violations of state hazardous waste management regulations carrying a total civil penalty of $2,397,450. These violations concern shipments of radioactive waste from the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (INEEL) to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) between March and July of this year.

These shipments of mixed waste from INEEL’s Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Project contained 107 drums that had not undergone the proper testing to ensure that they were eligible and safe for WIPP disposal.

NMED’s Compliance Order also requires DOE to submit to NMED a plan for removing this untested waste from the repository and a technical justification demonstrating that all 107 drums pose no elevated risk to human health and the environment. Both of these documents have a 30-day deadline.

“After a careful analysis of the existing information on this waste, we have decided to not order it removed from WIPP at this time,” said Secretary Curry. “This decision involved several factors including the safety of WIPP’s workers and the best use of taxpayers’ money. However, we will not grant DOE final approval on disposal of these 107 drums until the reports are received from DOE and carefully reviewed.”

Maybe someone else can find data on this; I can't. Best I can find without accessing WIPP's database is that these 107 drums are still in the ground, in sealed panel. I did find this NMED Administrative Compliance Order, Nov. 26, 2007, which I believe might be the final compliance order on the above matter. Interestingly, completely destroying the lie that 'no liquid waste' is stored at WIPP:

13. Permit Condition II.C.3.a states, "Liquids - liquid waste is not acceptable at WIPP. Waste shall contain as little residual liquid as is reasonably achievable by pouring, Page 3 of 35 pumping and/or aspirating, and internal containers shall contain less than 1 inch or 2.5 centimeters of liquid in the bottom of the container. Total residual liquid in any payload container (e.g., 55-gallon drum, standard waste box, etc.) may not exceed 1 percent volume of that container."

and

The memo states that although RTR has identified a few drums with containerized liquids, AK indicated containerized liquids were not expected in waste stream LA-MIN03-NC.OO1. It also states that "it is Page 12 of 35 unknown if any containerized liquids were embedded in" the 122 drums that were certified by VE in lieu of RTR and emplaced at WIPP because the VEE "looked at only the top of the waste form."

I find nothing in this Compliance Order that stipulates the 107 drums were removed. Never mind the fact that the above Compliance Order now cites 121 drums...

There ARE drums in WIPP's panels containing components of waste capable of generating explosive gases. That's a fact.

[logi_cal869]

Also, I had already come to this conclusion, but I defined it as mostly speculative analysis. Since POTR blog made a detailed posting of it, here it is:

WIPP's Radiation Detection Equipment Was Overwhelmed By Explosive Plutonium Release

The net conclusion being that their system wasn't designed to accurately determine 'release', but mine concentrations. Read for yourself above.

[logi_cal869]

Well, here we go:

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board has released a report on the 2 February WIPP 'events'.

http://krqe.com/2014/03/25/safety-board-calls-wipp-incidents-near-misses/

Here's a direct link to download the 'letter':

http://www.dnfsb.gov/sites/default/files/Board%20Activities/Letters/2014/ltr_2014321_23931.pdf

From there:

As result of its initial assessment, the Board wrote to the Secretary of Energy on March 12, 2014, pointing out that the ventilation system is not a designated safety system and has not been operated, maintained, and protected consistent with its current function to guard against further release of radioactive material from the mine.

and

For example, neither the filtered ventilation system nor the underground air monitor that triggered the ventilation system to switch to filtered mode is a credited safety system. In fact, for six days after the fire, no underground air monitors were operational. Had there been a failure on February 14 of the air monitor or filtered ventilation system, or if the release event had occurred three days earlier, the release of radioactive material from the aboveground mine exhaust would have been orders of magnitude larger. Until the cause of the radiation release is fully understood, these systems represent a real vulnerability to continued operations in the underground. DOE will need to upgrade the safety basis, engineered safety systems, and key safety management programs to support future waste disposal operations at WJPP. In accordance with DOE's safety directives, a formal Operational Readiness Review will also be required before waste disposal resumes.

To ensure that the ongoing recovery actions proceed safely, DOE and the WIPP contractor need to continue key, conservative actions that reduce the likelihood and mitigate the potential consequences of another event. These actions include the ongoing efforts to improve the performance and reliability of the filtered ventilation system; execution of the Unreviewed Safety Question process in accordance with 10 CFR Part 830, Nuclear Safety Management, to understand the safety basis implications of the radiological event, including conservative identification of compensatory measures; interim improvements in WIPP's emergency management capabilities for a subsequent event; enhanced oversight by DOE headquarters personnel; and near-tenn action to address the Judgments of Need identified by DOE's Accident Investigation Board.

Wow. The statement, "improve the performance and reliability of the filtered ventilation system" has broad implications for local residents. DOE/WIPP contractor has repeatedly stated it's operating at 99.9% efficiency and that they've 'sealed other potential release areas with foam' (/s)...

"Judgments of Need". Hmmm...first time I've seen that referenced anywhere. Maybe when I have more time I can track that down. As a footnote here, Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway and the Department of Energy will co-host a meeting with updates on WIPP recovery every Thursday beginning March 27th.

What that means for new info, who knows; but there will be a weekly cycle for what they 'want' to release now until the 'event' is over (obviously it's not, or there wouldn't be a weekly meeting, now would there?).

[logi_cal869]

Just a tag re comments I’ve seen elsewhere ‘surprised’ at hearing the salt mine isn’t wet, let alone the fact they built it on top of a brine deposit anyway:

“The Wet Repository”
http://www.cardnm.org/repository_a.html

Evaluation of Long-term Integrity of WIPP (1997)
http://www.wmsym.org/archives/1997/sess10/10-04.htm

[logi_cal869]

Update:

Team to re-enter New Mexico nuclear waste site after radiation leak

The team will wear protective clothing and use self-contained breathing devices in a mission designed to determine the cause of the February 14 accident.

Just noting the fact they still haven't turned off the ventilation system.

Oh, and can't ignore:

Testing of surface air in and around the Energy Department complex has shown elevated levels of radiation since the mishap, but those have steadily decreased. None reached concentrations considered harmful to human health or the environment, Bugger said.

Because inhaling and getting lodged in your lung tissue 'hot plutonium particles' and who-knows-what is good for you... They're supposed to reenter around April 1st.

April Fools! It's safe! /s

Mine inspections not done

Meanwhile, New Mexico's senators want answers about why legally required inspections for WIPP weren't performed by the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

NM senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich sent a letter to Labor Secretary Thomas Perez Thursday asking for a written report on why MSHA hadn't performed the legally required inspections at WIPP.

The information about missed safety inspections was revealed in the Department of Energy's accident report on the Feb. 5 fire at WIPP. By law, MSHA is required to inspect WIPP four times a year. The accident report said the inspections had been performed twice in the last three years.

DOE & EPA setting up air monitoring stations & sampling soil & vegetation:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/crews-preparing-to-enter-underground-nuke-dump/2014/03/27/9f1290c4-b60d-11e3-bab2-b9602293021d_story.html

DOE:

the DOE said it will expand its environmental monitoring to 10 more stations that will test air, soil and vegetation around Hobbs, Artesia, Loving, Eunice and other nearby communities. To date, samples taken around Carlsbad have shown only radiation levels well below those deemed unsafe.

and EPA deploying mobile air monitors

http://www.currentargus.com/news/ci_25430586/epa-to-deploy-mobile-air-monitors

But I thought the levels were dropping and what was released was 'below levels' concerning human health????

The Environmental Protection Agency will deploy mobile environmental monitoring units to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, according to a news release by New Mexico Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich.

The Senators asked for the additional air monitors in a Feb. 27 letter to EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. The monitors will conduct independent tests and help respond to questions about environmental safety, the news release said.

"It's critical to ensure the public has access to accurate, timely information about health and safety while the recovery efforts at WIPP continues," the news release said. "As a public health agency, the EPA can provide independent monitoring and analysis about the safety of the air at WIPP and in the Carlsbad community."

The Senators said they believe the monitors will prove the radiation releases from WIPP are not a danger to public health.

The Senators are playing both sides of the fence well, aren't they?

[logi_cal869]

Entering 4/1/2014

http://www.wipp.energy.gov/Special/WIPP%20Update%203_31_14.pdf

No joke.

[logi_cal869]

WIPP Plutonium Release Initially Unfiltered & HEPA System Was MANUALLY Started, Resulting In Human Contamination

http://pissinontheroses.blogspot.com/2014/04/alert-doe-confirms-our-report-wipp.html

DOE releases scathing report on WIPP leak

http://krqe.com/2014/04/24/300-page-accident-ivestigation-on-wipp-released/

DOE Issues WIPP Radiological Release Investigation Report

http://www.energy.gov/em/articles/doe-issues-wipp-radiological-release-investigation-report

DOE Report - Phase I

http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f15/Final%20WIPP%20Rad%20Release%20Phase%201%2004%2022%202014_0.pdf

Gov’t Report: ‘Green burst’ seen at WIPP utility yard just minutes before radiation event began — ‘Popping noise’ heard by facility manager investigating incident

http://enenews.com/govt-report-green-burst-reported-wipp-utility-yard-minutes-before-radiation-event-began-popping-noise-heard-facility-manager?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ENENews+%28Energy+News%29

The link above is citing page 12 of the DOE report...

[logi_cal869]

Ok. If anyone has been following this, the prior reports by WIPP staff of “stabilizing” the exhaust stacks wasn’t due to an explosion, but to ‘stabilize the filtration’, as they discovered it wasn’t trapping all the air. They sent in workers to install foam to seal up the filters that weren’t operating as efficiently as the DOE asserted (they asserted 99-99.9%).

We also know that the exhaust wasn’t switched over as they asserted (I’m not going to summarize ad nauseam here; just look at the prior post).

Anyway, now the details of eyewitnesses are coming out. One being the “Green Burst” over the substation which, oddly, is placed adjacent to the exhaust stack).

See here

http://pissinontheroses.blogspot.com/2014/04/max-alert-green-burst-at-wipp.html

The POTR blog is still asserting the release was ‘exothermic’, causing a problem for the CAMs in the mine, whose air intakes are only 5-6 feet off the floor with 12 foot ceilings. They may be right, but there’s no cause found (or released) by WIPP yet. I still believe it may be a combination of explosion (hydrogen) and some exothermic event, as they definitely did not find evidence of a mine cave-in. So ‘something’ was responsible for making airborne so much radioactive material. A hydrogen explosion fits the bill.

Just wanna state again that I find no technical reason for why they just didn’t ‘shut off’ the mine ventilation system the moment they detected radiation (ya know, nobody in the mine to be supplying fresh air for to compromise topside safety).

Also want to state for the record again that the WIPP incident has brought back to the forefront of the memories of those in the US how our government will respond to emergencies much more serious (Fukushima-like) and that all the people out there (some even here at FR) biased as such will tell us that breathing in hot particles that ‘dose’ at safe rates is still ‘ok’.

Also want to restate for the record that I was historically pro-nuclear. The more I find out about the US civilian nuclear industry and the management thereof by our government (balanced with all the secrets of TMI, Hanford and others, along with the intransigence of moving to something safer and 3 years post-Fukushima not even tabling a plan to replace similar reactors stateside)...I’m finding myself more & more on the other side.

I’ll keep following this, and updating, even though I think this thread is long forgotten (don’t tell me WIPP hasn’t been in the news.../s).

[logi_cal869]

Update from the 5/8 ‘Town Hall’ held by WIPP contractor in Carlsbad:

They’ve identified a LANL waste stream that seems to contain ‘nitrate salts’ and organics that may have vented and caused the event. However, they have NOT formed a strategy nor a cause of action for identifying and removing the specific drum to find out what happened. There appears to be many questions about a number of ‘high-activity drums’ that, on LANL’s website, state they were ‘unvented’ despite all the official statements about every container being shipped to WIPP required to be vented. The answer re the story on LANL’s website below

http://www.lanl.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2008/November/11.25-wipp-shipment.php

was, “I’ll have to go look at that” and other generalities.

Bottom line: They know nothing. They’re also asserting they can ‘decontaminate’ the mine to restore operations. They’re also talking seriously that, if it’s ‘just one drum’ about leaving it in place, sealing Panel 7 and restoring shipment operations for storage/disposal.

They’re still looking at it, investigating...but they’re also formulating a ‘move forward strategy’ without adequate information to address community concerns.

Just fyi. I’ll post a link if someone writes a better story than my generalized summary.

The Town Hall link is here, fwiw

http://new.livestream.com/rrv/wipptownhall9

There is no index I’ve yet seen for the town hall vids. However, you can view prior town hall vids by changing the end number (9, in this case) to bring up a prior town hall. #8, for example, was the 5/1 town hall...

[logi_cal869]

Gawd...”green kitty litter” is what they’re blaming it on (theory)
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/nuke-expert-believes-kitty-litter-switch-led-to-wipp-leak/article_99d82721-b20c-5991-8f41-f03424714c9d.html

“Scientists” that designated using kitty litter for its properties in stabilizing some wastes didn’t notify Purchasing that a mitigation component of nuclear safety shouldn’t be changed without consulting them?

This is similar to some idiot substituting G5 bolts for G8 awhile back on helicopters.

The question, then: What else is in the barrels that they neither were informed of nor tested for?

and

What of the barrels of waste in the TRUpacks sitting on trucks in the sun? Drying out? Ya think?

[logi_cal869]

Well, well, well...

http://www.abqjournal.com/401669/abqnewsseeker/photos-show-cracked-lanl-container-at-wipp.html

The waste stream extends to Texas

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/10/us-usa-nuclear-new-mexico-idUSBREA4901M20140510