The DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant celebrated Tuesday its 25th anniversary of receiving transuranic nuclear waste. Courtesy photo
DOE NEWS RELEASE
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced Tuesday that the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad reached a major milestone – 25 years of operations at the nation’s only deep, underground geological repository for disposal of transuranic (TRU) nuclear waste.(www.wipp.energy.gov)
It was standing room only during the recognition ceremony at the WIPP site. Attendees
included officials from DOE, the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, Mine Safety and
Health Administration, the State of New Mexico Environment Department, elected New
Mexico state officials, regional and local elected officials as well as community leaders and
civic organizations.
“WIPP plays a vital role not only disposing of the nation’s TRU waste, but also in our national
security,” said Ike White, senior advisor for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of
Environmental Management. “Because of WIPP, more than 20 DOE sites have been able to
safely dispose of their TRU waste, resulting in a reduced risk to millions of Americans.”
White added, “WIPP remains the cornerstone of the U.S. DOE’s important environmental
cleanup mission, permanently disposing of the nation’s TRU waste.”
Twenty-five years ago, WIPP received its first shipment of defense generated TRU waste,
marking the official beginning of operations. The shipment from the Los Alamos National
Laboratory was safely transported and disposed of in the WIPP underground disposal area.
“This is an exciting day for our employees and the surrounding area,” said Mark Bollinger,
Carlsbad Field Office manager. “Without the dedication of the workforce, we would not be
here today. Their attention to detail and safety is the reason WIPP has been so successful.”
Since beginning operations in 1999, WIPP has safely traveled over 16.5 million loaded miles
(this would equate to approximately 34 round trips to the moon). This has led to the safe
disposal of over 285,000 waste containers in the WIPP underground.
About WIPP:
TRU waste began accumulating in the 1940s with the beginning of the nation’s nuclear
defense program. As early as the 1950s, the National Academy of Sciences recommended
deep disposal of long-lived TRU radioactive wastes in geologically stable formations, such as
deep salt beds.
In 1979, Congress authorized WIPP and the facility was constructed during the 1980s.
Congress limited WIPP to the disposal of defense-generated TRU wastes in the 1992 Land
Withdrawal Act. In 1998, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certified WIPP for safe,
long-term disposal of TRU wastes. The New Mexico Environment Department additionally
issued WIPP a Hazardous Waste Facility Permit in 1999.
Located in Southeast New Mexico, about 33 miles east of Carlsbad, the WIPP repository is
carved out of a 2,000-foot-thick salt bed formed 250 million years ago. TRU waste is disposed
of 2,150 feet underground in rooms mined from the salt bed.
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This article was originally published by a losalamosreporter.com . Read the Original article here. .