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State legislators look for answers about leak in underground facility

July 23, 2014

By Julie Ann Grimm
Santa Fe Reporter

What do the OJ Simpson murder trial and a nuclear waste leak in southern New Mexico have in common?

A single glove.

Legislators at a Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee meeting in Los Alamos chuckled when Sen. Peter Wirth, D-Santa Fe, made the comparison. Yet, it was still an accurate summary of a report the lawmakers heard Wednesday about a serious problem for the long-term storage of dangerous contaminants.

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory are still trying to determine exactly what caused a barrel buried at the Waste Isolation Pilot Project to burst open in February, said LANL chemist Nan Sauer, but they now have a pretty good idea of the materials that were involved.

Sauer, leader of the lab’s internal technical investigations, has been working on the problem since officials first learned of the contamination alarm at the Carlsbad facility on Valentine’s Day.

She told committee members that tests have revealed that the barrel in question contained a rare combination of waste products from the lab: wheat-based kitty litter that was used to absorb plutonium contaminated nitrate salts; material with high acidity; and trace metals such as lead, tungsten and chromium that are components of a glove.

The waste inside the burst barrel and been stored without incident at at lab for about 30 years, Sauer explained. That changed, she said, after the 2012 repackaging of that "parent" barrel into two "daughter" barrels. One became the problem child, No. 68660.

Workers at the lab use containment devices called glove boxes that allow for handling and repacking of waste generated in the research and development of the nations’s nuclear stockpile. The gloves that form a barrier for workers are routinely changed and placed into barrels along with waste, as was recorded for No. 68660. But investigators now believe the metals in the glove might have reacted with nitrate salts after temperatures rose in the barrel at WIPP.

"Glove box gloves and nitric acid and lead have been implicated in other energetic events within the DOE complex," Sauer said.

Just how the temps increased to initiate the reaction, however, is still up for debate. Theories about what initiated the reaction include warmth generated by decomposition of the litter (a commercially available substance called Swheat that Sauer says won’t be used anymore ). Another hypothesis would put the blame on heat from a truck fire that occurred inside WIPP a half mile from the barrel location about nine days before an air monitor detected the radiation leak. Smoke from the fire might have also affected ventilation systems and led to hotter air, she said.

Sauer noted that the lab is busily performing more tests to try to answer the temperature question to assist with the Department of Energy’s accident investigation board.

"We have done a lot of work and narrowed down the parameters to a very specific set of reactions that could have occurred in the drum, and our chemists are continuing to work on answering those questions," she said. "We really feel that we are coming very, very close to the answer in terms of what the chemical reactions were."

Meanwhile, work on characterization and packaging as well as transportation to the WIPP facility has been suspended. About 700 barrels that contain the nitrates and kitty litter are now stored with extra precaution at the lab and at a Texas holding facility where they were already awaiting transportation to Carlsbad at the time of the detected problem, said Peter Maggiore, the National Nuclear Safety Administration’s assistant manager for environmental programs at the lab.

Legislators who asked when those operations would resume got a straight answer from Maggiore: No one knows.

"We have not established a date whereby we will resume operations," he said, indicating that until federal investigations wrap up and officials agree on the next steps, the waste will stay put. "Any date that I might give you just wouldn’t be a valuable date"

The barrels are part of more than 3,700 cubic meters of waste planned for removal from the lab’s Area G and relocated in the the underground salt caves of WIPP by next year. It’s clear now that goal won’t be met.

Chemists, engineers with expertise in heat transfer and others are part of two technical teams on the the case, Sauer said, noting that investigators are using a broad approach to ensure the best understanding of the nature of the event.

Later in the day, state Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn told legislators that he believes the federal and state agencies will work for another six months to a year before there’s a resolution. The bottom line, he says, is that LANL or its contractors erred in sending reactive materials to WIPP in violation of permits and rules. Communication breakdowns are also in play, he said.

Maggiore noted that even though some parts of the waste characterization and removal process are halted, the lab continues other cleanup efforts required by an agreement with federal and state regulators including monsoon runoff monitoring upstream from the Santa Fe city and county Buckman water diversion from the Rio Grande.

"We realize that there has been some trust lost in this whole process," Maggiore said. "We do have a lot of work ahead of us to regain that trust."

"Their jobs won’t ever be the same… will face new paradigm" — Concerns plutonium contaminated surrounding salt — Preparing for radiation levels so high, only robots can be used (VIDEO)

April 22nd, 2014

By ENENews

Albuquerque Journal News, Apr. 22, 2014: WIPP workers face big changes, Their jobs won’t ever be the same — Now that contamination has been discovered underground – although the extent is still unknown – the contractor that runs the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant says workers will face a new paradigm when they return to the site: more formality, tougher rules and more protective gear. […] those working underground will likely be doing their jobs in a more hazardous environment – or one where the risks have been made more evident – with new rules of engagement to protect them from exposure to radiation. […] plutonium and americium may have contaminated rock salt walls, mixed into dust on the floor, and clung to machinery and other equipment underground. If stirred or scuffed up, the radiation can become airborne and inhaled. […] NWP workers are not permitted to speak to the press, according to a spokesman.

• Bob McQuinn, new president/project manager of WIPP operator: "The place […] now has, not more than the rest of the sites, but similar radiation protection hazards […] Now we’re going to have to wear protective equipment – coveralls, shoe covers and gloves – to make sure contamination doesn’t get on us and respirators so it doesn’t get in us. People who haven’t had to wear protective equipment will have to."
• Dr. Fred Mettler, radiologist and US representative to the United Nations World Health and Atomic Energy Agency: "The first rule of thumb is nobody thinks any of this is good for you. So you want to keep doses as low as possible. Medically, it’s very, very difficult to get the stuff out of you."
• Jim Frederick, United Steel Workers assistant director of health, safety and environment: "Is this place going to be safe for our folks to go back to? […] What was not in place that might have kept this from happening? And what do we need to do to keep the workers safe and make sure the public health risks are kept at zero or very, very close to zero?"

KOAT, Apr. 20, 2014: "The more they went into panel 7, the more it started becoming more widespread," said WIPP deputy recovery manager Tammy Reynolds. […] Inspectors plan to go back down and explore things further, but in case the radiation levels pose too much of a threat, robots will go underground instead. "Robot operators have already been to the WIPP site, received all of the training to go to the underground," said Reynolds.

Carlsbad Current-Argus, Apr. 22, 2014: robots are on standby to support the recovery operations

Watch KOAT’s broadcast here:

Gov’t: "We’ve never seen a level like we are seeing… I can’t tell you the amount" — Could be Plutonium — ‘Unclear’ how much radiation released — Unprecedented event (VIDEO)

February 16th, 2014

By ENENews – Energy News

Reuters, Feb. 16, 2014 (emphasis added): Unusually high levels of radioactive particles were found at an underground nuclear waste site in New Mexico on Saturday in what a spokesman said looked like the first real alarm since the plant opened in 1999. […] radioactive waste, such as plutonium used in defense research and nuclear weapon making, is dumped half a mile below ground […] "But I believe it’s safe to say we’ve never seen a level like we are seeing. We just don’t know if it’s a real event, but it looks like one," [Energy spokesman Roger Nelson] said. It was not yet clear what caused the air-monitoring system to indicate that radioactive particles were present at unsafe levels, Nelson said. […]

AP, Feb. 16, 2014: WIPP […] takes plutonium-contaminated waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory and other federal nuclear projects. [….] Nelson says the cause of the leak is not known […] He couldn’t quantify the level it takes to trigger the monitors […] We are going to take measurements and make sure we understand it" before sending in a team, he said.

Carlsbad Current Argus, Feb. 16, 2014: "These are radionuclides that are of a hazard if inhaled […] the primary concern for the release of this nature is (through) the ventilation passageway […] I can’t tell you the amount or level but they were elevated and above normal, above background," Nelson said of the radiation that was detected airborne near Panel 7, Room 7, in the south salt mine. According to Nelson this is the first time in WIPP’s 15-year history that the facility has had a CAM alarm detect this level of radiation underground […] WIPP entered emergency status less than two weeks ago, when an underground fire was reported […] underground operations have been suspended since the incident […]

UPI, Feb. 16, 2014: […] it was unclear exactly how much radiation has been released from the WIPP. "Additional sampling is going on. We have employees sequestered in place so that we minimize any potential for airborne inhalation," [said Nelson.]

Watch the KREQ broadcast here:

City of 2.5 million nearly 200 miles away "within transnational evacuation zone in event of a nuclear disaster" — Local officials meeting with U.S. gov’t — Whistleblower: If plutonium released "surrounding population should take precautions"

March 26th, 2014

By ENENews – Energy News

U.S. Radiation Leak Concerns Mexicans, by Kent Paterson, Editor of Frontera NorteSur and Curriculum Developer with the project of the Center for Latin American and Border Studies at New Mexico State University (NMSU), Mar. 24, 2014: Serious problems at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico have caught the eyes of the press and government officials in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico [Population: 2.5 million]. […] Since February 14, additional radiation releases [from WIPP] connected to the original one have been reported, even as more workers are still awaiting test results for possible radiation exposure during the first event. Although Ciudad Juarez is located nearly 200 miles from WIPP, city officials expect to meet with U.S. government representatives on March 26 or 27 to discuss ongoing issues from the February 14 incident. A story in El Diario newspaper said that Ciudad Juarez (and neighboring El Paso and Las Cruces) were well within a transnational evacuation zone in the event of a nuclear disaster. While WIPP spokespersons say that the radiation releases have been minimal and pose no danger to public health, Mexican officials are anxious to hear the message in person. […] Despite U.S. and Mexican government reports of little or no radioactive contamination from the WIPP leak, public doubts about the gravity of the February 14 incident persist due to incomplete contaminant data reporting, the slowness in getting all the potentially exposed workers tested and informed, spotty or contradictory statements by regulatory officials, and uncertainties over the origin of the radiation leak and how far an area it has impacted. […] Back in the 1990s, Ciudad Juarez and U.S. environmentalists from the Rio Bravo Ecological Alliance took a stand against WIPP based partly on concerns that the underground storage facility would eventually contaminate the Pecos River Basin and the Rio Grande.

Alejandro Gloria, chief of Ciudad Juarez’s municipal ecology department: "Everything is fine. There are no plutonium or strange particulates that have been detected inside the filters." […] the WIPP crisis could lead to a review of nuclear safeguards in the greater border region [ant they are] looking at geologic stability and the possible effects of the WIPP site on groundwater as issues that could be reexamined by the Mexican Congress and Chihuahua State Legislature.

Fernando Motta Allen, director of Ciudad Juarez’s civil protection department (emphasis added): "Next week, people from the EPA and the U.S. DOE are going to come with first-hand information to guarantee that no risks exist." […] Ciudad Juarez has two radiation detection devices, but […] the city had no specialists to operate them […] the equipment is easy to use and comes with a complete instruction manual.

Mexican whistle-blower Bernardo Salas Mar, a former employee of the Laguna Verde nuclear power plant in Veracruz: Important bits of information need to be confirmed about the WIPP radiation release like the wind patterns at the time of the incident and the possible geographic scope of the spread of contaminants. "The answer to these questions will lend knowledge to the damage that could have been caused […] After (radiation) ingestion or incorporation into the human organism, 10 or 15 years or more pass before the appearance of some kind of cancer. [If plutonium and americium were indeed released into the larger environment] the surrounding population should take precautions in order to avoid exposure to these contaminants."

Dr. Mariana Chew, environmental engineer: A cross-border, information-credibility gap existed with regards to WIPP. "The same thing always happens. It happened with Asarco (ex-El Paso smelter) and other environmental disasters that weren’t made known to the public […] Given the history, this radiation shouldn’t be taken lightly. Whenever something happens, that’s when you hear about it."

See also: Official: Radioactive material escaping everyday from WIPP and dispersing — Top officials "not made available for comment" — Expert: Leaks from ‘unfiltered’ ducts went on for weeks

FILE – This May 10, 2014 file photo provided by the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant shows torn and open bags of magnesium oxide on top of standard waste boxes at the WIPP site in Carlsbad, N.M. Workers at a West Texas nuclear waste disposal site are closely monitoring containers from Los Alamos National Lab, Tuesday, May 20, 2014, a day after New Mexico officials announced a type of kitty litter is believed to have caused a radiation leak at the federal government’s troubled nuclear waste dump. (AP Photo/Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, File)

MAY 20, 2014

By Betsy Blaney
Associated Press

LUBBOCK, Texas — Workers at a West Texas nuclear waste disposal site on Tuesday were closely monitoring containers being stored there temporarily, a day after New Mexico officials said drums packed with low-level waste and organic kitty litter may pose a potentially "substantial" threat to public health.

One container that used the organic litter is believed to have caused a radiation leak at the federal government’s troubled nuclear waste dump near Carlsbad, New Mexico.

Waste Control Specialists spokesman Chuck McDonald says the drums from Los Alamos National Lab are being monitored by video camera 24 hours a day as they sit inside a metal building on the company’s site. The New Mexico Environment Department said Tuesday that more than 100 containers at the Andrews County site in West Texas.

"If there is anything that is off normal we would be know about it immediately," McDonald said.

The containers came to WCS after a leak at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, the nation’s only permanent underground repository for low-level radioactive waste, contaminated 22 workers with low levels of radiation in February. New Mexico environmental officials said more than 350 containers are underground at the Carlsbad site.

The kitty litter soaks up any liquid before drums of waste are sealed and shipped. Officials are investigating whether a switch from non-organic to organic litter is to blame for the leak.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality spokesman Terry Clawson said none of the containers show any signs of leaking and that every precaution was being taken to ensure safety at the WCS site.

On Monday, environmental officials in New Mexico issued a formal order giving the Los Alamos lab two days to submit a plan for securing the waste containers, many of which are likely stored outdoors on the lab’s northern New Mexico campus or at WCS.

The order says 57 barrels of waste that are at Los Alamos were packed with nitrate salts and organic kitty litter, a combination thought to have caused a heat reaction and radiation release.

No shipments are now coming to West Texas from Los Alamos, Clawson said.