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March 20, 2014

By Bob Brewin
NextGov

The Energy Department has decided to use a commercial nuclear waste dump while it struggles to reopen its underground storage site after two radiation leaks and a fire since February.

Energy and Nuclear Waste Partners, its contractor for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant located 26 miles southeast of Carlsbad, N.M., said they plan to ship nuclear waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory to a commercial site in Andrews, Texas, operated by Waste Control Specialists. Andrews is 100 miles east of Carlsbad.

WIPP, by law, can only store waste generated by the country’s nuclear weapons programs. Waste Control Specialists stores commercial nuclear waste from nuclear power plants and hospitals.

Los Alamos has stored transuranic waste, debris, soil, tools and clothing contaminated primarily with plutonium above ground for years. In 2011, the largest forest fire in the history of New Mexico came within 3.5 miles of this waste, stored in 55 gallon drums and larger containers for machinery.

The lab and the state of New Mexico agreed in January 2012 to ship 3,706 cubic meters of above-ground waste from the lab to WIPP by June 30 of this year. WIPP was closed for routine maintenance last month and was supposed to reopen this month to receive waste shipments from Los Alamos.

Lab spokesman Matt Nerzig said 80 percent of the 3,706 cubic meters of waste has already been sent to WIPP and the other 20 percent will now be shipped to Waste Control Specialists, starting April 1.

Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., said in a statement that “Removing waste from the mesa in Los Alamos before fire season is critical to ensure safety in the greater Los Alamos community. The state’s June 2014 deadline was firm and nonnegotiable, as I made clear in repeated conversations with Energy Secretary [Ernest] Moniz since the Feb. 14 accident at WIPP."

Udall added, "I’m pleased we have a temporary solution that will ensure there will not be any significant disruption in cleanup efforts" at WIPP.

Energy and Nuclear Waste Partners said the waste from Los Alamos sent to Waste Control Specialists will be moved to WIPP for final disposal once that site reopens, but gave no date. Shipments to Waste Control Specialists "are contingent upon the completion of an appropriate National Environmental Policy Act analysis," they said.

Udall said he also plans to press Energy to provide him with its transportation plans for the Los Alamos waste to Texas. This, he said, should include, "the impact on roads, traffic and security through southeast New Mexico. DoE needs to ensure the resources are in place for safe transportation and security.”

WIPP stores waste in 16 miles of salt caverns mined 2,150 feet below the surface. Chuck McDonald, a spokesman for Waste Control Specialists, said the Los Alamos waste will be stored above ground at its 1,338-acre facility.

Rod Baltzer, president of Waste Control Specialists, emphasized the security of the company’s facilities. “This will allow the Los Alamos National Laboratory to meet its goal of having this material removed by this summer so it can no longer be threatened by wildfires,” he said. “WCS has never had a wildfire because all surrounding areas are covered with asphalt and caliche roadways. In addition, the waste will be in storage facilities that have sprinkler system, and in the event of an emergency, WCS has its own fire truck on site."

March 22, 2014

Article by Associated Press

CARLSBAD, N.M. — Employees at the federal government’s troubled nuclear waste dump in southeastern New Mexico are preparing to enter the facility’s underground mine for the first time since a radiation leak contaminated workers last month.

The U.S. Department of Energy announced Saturday that 35 workers have undergone training simulations at a Potash mine before re-entry next week into the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

Employees went through a two-hour underground session using protective gear and air-breathing units, officials said.

Workers spent this week training for various scenarios that could occur in the mine.

According to the Department of Energy, the plan is for workers to set up an operating camp near a salt-handling shaft and then check for a secondary exit in the shaft that controls air flow. After that, they will focus on finding the source of the radiation release.

The repository near Carlsbad stopped taking all waste shipments after an underground truck fire on Feb. 5. Nine days later, a radiation release shuttered the plant. A series of shortcomings in maintenance, safety training, emergency response and oversight were cited by a team that investigated the truck fire.

The New Mexico Environment Department withdrew a preliminary permit this week for the dump’s request to expand its facility, citing the fire and the leak.

It is unclear, however, if the two incidents are related.

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is the nation’s only permanent underground repository for low-level radioactive waste, including things like plutonium-contaminated gloves, tools and protective clothing, from nuclear weapons facilities.

With the nuclear waste dump shuttered, operators for the plan made an agreement with Waste Control Specialists to ship radioactive waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory to rural west Texas.

Mar 20, 2014

BY JOSEPH J. KOLB
Reuters News

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (Reuters) – The Los Alamos National Laboratory has found a temporary home in Texas for roughly 1,000 barrels of radioactive junk left in limbo after a radiation leak led to a prolonged shutdown of New Mexico’s only nuclear waste disposal facility.

Los Alamos, one of the leading U.S. nuclear weapons labs, said earlier this month it had been forced to halt shipments of its radioactive refuse some 300 miles across the state to the nation’s only underground nuclear repository, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, near Carlsbad.

The repository has remained closed while the U.S. Department of Energy investigates the origins of a radiation leak that occurred there on February 14, exposing at least 17 workers to radioactive contamination. It was the first such mishap since the facility opened in 1999.

That left a quandary for Los Alamos, which faces a strict June 30 deadline to dispose of roughly 1,000 temporary storage drums of radiation-contaminated waste. The lab said on Thursday that waste would be sent to the Waste Control Specialists facility in Andrews County, Texas.

The waste that will go to Texas includes clothing, tools, rags, debris, soil and other items contaminated with low levels of radiation, Los Alamos said. It will be held in Texas temporarily, pending the reopening of the New Mexico repository.

According to Los Alamos lab spokesman Matt Nerzig, the waste will begin to be shipped to the temporary site in early April, ahead of the June deadline set by the state environmental department to remove it from the Los Alamos campus.

Established during World War Two as part of the top-secret Manhattan Project to build the world’s first atomic bomb, Los Alamos remains one of the leading nuclear weapons manufacturing facilities in the United States.

A massive wildfire that raged at the edge of the complex in 2011 burned to within a few miles of a collection of radioactive waste drums temporarily stored at the site. Since then, Energy Department and state officials have made the removal of the waste a top environmental priority.

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Cynthia Osterman)

March 21, 2014

Kenneth Fletcher
Los Alamos Study Group

While the Department of Energy this week announced that it plans to send transuranic waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory to Waste Control Specialists for temporary storage, there is a tight time frame for completing preparations for the shipments. DOE has committed to New Mexico to completing its campaign for removal of aboveground transuranic waste by a June deadline, despite the indefinite shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. Shipments to WCS will need to start in early April in order to meet the deadline, according to DOE. However, they cannot take place until the completion of a National Environmental Policy Act analysis—and it is unclear how long that will take.

WCS expects to be able to accept the "vast majority of the remaining LANL waste," according to company spokesman Chuck McDonald. However, a portion of the LANL material that may not meet criteria for acceptance at WCS may need to either be sent to another DOE site for temporary storage or repackaged before being sent to WCS. "Based on evaluations to date, we predict that the vast majority requires no additional repackaging or recertification. However, the detailed review of the inventory is still continuing," a DOE spokesperson said.

Waste Will Go From WCS to WIPP After Startup

The waste in question is the last portion of 3,706 cubic meters of transuranic waste stored aboveground at LANL that were targeted in a framework agreement with New Mexico for removal by June—a deal brokered after a wildfire in 2011 threatened the material. The campaign had been in its final stages when WIPP shut down indefinitely last month due to two incidents: a salt truck fire and a radiation release. DOE officials have promised to meet the June deadline. "The LANL waste will be staged so that it can be disposed of as soon as WIPP resumes waste receipt operations," J. R. Stroble, DOE’s Director of the National Transuranic Program, said in a statement. "These shipments will be managed just like other WIPP shipments. The Department will continue to evaluate potential alternatives for other DOE transuranic waste generating sites until WIPP is fully operational."

This week WIPP contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership said it would subcontract with WCS to stage the waste at the commercial low-level waste disposal facility about 75 miles from WIPP. "A letter contract was awarded on Monday, not to exceed $500,000. It anticipates a definitized contract in the near future, which will have more specific terms. It is DOE’s intent that NWP acquire temporary staging only until WIPP resumes operations," the DOE spokesperson said. NWP spokesman Donavan Mager said in a written response: "The terms and conditions are still be negotiated as part of a final contract to be completed by the end of March."

WCS Will Place Waste in Covered Facility

The LANL waste will be placed in an indoor covered storage facility at WCS. "The WCS workforce is well trained and experienced in handling this type of waste," WCS President Rod Baltzer said in a statement. "We will inspect all incoming canisters to insure that they are sealed and there has been no breach. WCS has a sophisticated inspection and monitoring system in the buildings where the canisters will be stored to insure the safety of our employees and the environment." Baltzer also emphasized that WCS has never had a wildfire, and that the storage facilities have a sprinkler system and there is a fire truck on site.

State Applauds the Move

New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn applauded the move. "Governor [Susana] Martinez has worked aggressively and effectively with the federal government to make sure they fulfill their promise of removing the above-ground transuranic waste at Los Alamos and storing it in a safe and appropriate manner," Flynn said in a statement. "She continues to work them to accomplish this goal on schedule, which is critical in light of the rapidly approaching fire season. It’s up to experts at DOE to determine what steps they need to take to do this job safely and properly, and up to New Mexico and Texas to ensure this is done within the confines of our regulatory requirements. We are very encouraged by DOE’s effort to keep the 3706 campaign on track even under these difficult circumstances."

‘The Problems With This Plan are Legion’

But the WCS option was met with skepticism by Greg Mello of the Los Alamos Study Group, an activist organization. "The problems with this plan are legion," Mello said in an e-mail. Finishing the NEPA analysis in time "will set some sort of speed record," Mello said. Problems also include the need to transport the material twice and load and unload it twice. "This is all about appearances and public relations and visual impact (hidden is better, some say)," Mello said. He continued: "There is no significant fire danger for this waste at LANL. Upon information and belief, most flammable drums have been shipped and there is essentially no danger of wildfire, the surrounding vegetation having been burned."

But Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) also hailed the decision. "Removing waste from the mesa in Los Alamos before fire season is critical to ensure safety in the greater Los Alamos community," Udall said in a statement. "The state’s June 2014 deadline was firm and non-negotiable, as I made clear in repeated conversations with Energy Secretary [Ernest] Moniz since the Feb. 14 accident at WIPP. I’m pleased we have a temporary solution that will ensure there will not be any significant disruption in cleanup efforts. By law, WIPP is the only permanent repository for TRU waste from Los Alamos and other nuclear weapons facilities, and I look forward to continued progress in the recovery March 21, 2014 Weapons Complex Monitor # ExchangeMonitor Publications, Inc. 7 efforts. In the meantime, I will be pressing DOE for details about its transportation plan, including the impact on roads, traffic and security through Southeast New Mexico. DOE needs to ensure the resources are in place for safe transportation and security."

Legislators consider bringing high-level radioactive waste to Texas.

February 26, 2014

by KAREN HADDEN
Fort Worth Weekly

The Texas Legislature will hold hearings this year on the supposed benefits of our state storing the very hottest type of radioactive waste. Only political greed overriding common sense could account for such a stupid idea.

Where does the greed come in? Radioactive waste barons are among the largest political donors to Gov. Rick Perry, Atty. Gen. (and gubernatorial candidate) Greg Abbott, and many Texas legislators.

The House has charged the Environmental Regulation Committee with investigating this topic. The study itself is alarming enough, but consider this: The committee is supposed to look into rules regarding disposal of high-level radioactive wastes and the “potential economic impact” of allowing that kind of operation in Texas. But where is the direction to the committee to also study the risks to Texans’ health via water and air pollution, leakage, transportation accidents, and, yes, terrorism? There is no such requirement.

High-level radioactive waste includes spent nuclear reactor fuel rods and reprocessed spent fuel, which can contain plutonium, americium, cesium, strontium, iodine-129, and more. Without protective gear, even short-term exposure to the rods can be lethal. Human exposure can cause cancer, birth defects and genetic damage.

Just look at the ongoing battle to prevent global contamination from Japan’s Fukushima 4 reactor. High-level radioactive waste will remain dangerous for hundreds of thousands of years.

Most states would fight to stop such dumping, and Texas has done so in the past. Deaf Smith County was previously considered as a geologic repository site, but opponents successfully raised concerns about risks to the Ogallala Aquifer. The decision to locate that dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada was political, based on faulty science. After decades of research and more than $10 billion of taxpayer money, development of the site was finally halted in 2010.

Now the Obama administration wants to get the idea moving again. The commission created at the president’s behest produced a report in 2012 that is a road map to developing another site. Look out, Texas! The Department of Energy is looking for a new sucker.

Texas leaders oppose every other idea the Obama administration has, so why would they consider this one? See “political donors,” above.

No doubt we’ll hear myths of how safely radioactive waste can be brought in and glowing (so to speak) tales of how rich we’ll all get, but only private companies would reap profits, while Texans bear the economic, health, and environmental costs.

Experience shows that we can’t trust federal or state agencies to protect us from radioactive risks.

The DOE touts the success of the federal Waste Isolation Pilot Project site near Carlsbad, N.M., which stores plutonium. The site was recently evacuated when a truck caught fire underground. High levels of radiation were reported inside the facility. Texas doesn’t need nightmares like this.

In 2009 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality licensed Waste Control Specialists to operate a “low-level” radioactive waste dump in Andrews County. The company’s owner, the late billionaire Harold Simmons, was Perry’s second-largest donor and over the years gave $2 million to Abbott.

Is it any wonder that TCEQ licensed the waste dump over the objections of its own scientists, who warned about water sources being too close to the waste? TCEQ recently relaxed its earlier safety requirement that the site be dry up to 150 feet from where waste is buried; now burial is allowed even when there is standing water nearby. Other “low-level” radioactive waste sites have leaked, resulting in billion-dollar cleanup costs.

So what should be done with high-level radioactive waste? Spent fuel rods must first be cooled for several years in a pool but later can be stored in hardened casks at the reactor sites where they were generated. There’s no need to move them before Congress determines a permanent geologic disposal site. We shouldn’t risk shipping dangerous radioactive materials across the country via railroads and highways such as I-20 and I-30.

Our legislators should respect Texas and our land. It’s wrong to treat Texas as a nuclear dumping ground, to consider our deserts a wasteland, and to risk our water. No thinking Texan wants to deal with the permanent, horrific damages to our health and our economy that could occur.

State Representatives Chris Turner and Jason Villalba serve on the Environmental Committee that will hear this issue. Tell them and other committee members not to dump or store dangerous high-level radioactive waste in Texas! And stay up to date on these hearings via the NukeFreeTexas website.

Karen Hadden is the director of the Sustainable Energy & Economic Development (SEED) Coalition.