I have been blogging lately about illegal dumping of radioactive materials around the world. I am going to change topics for today's blog. Recently there has been a series of reports about a fire and a "radiation event" at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico. This facility is a deep geological repository for waste generated by the manufacture of nuclear weapons for the United States military and is the only transuranic repository in the U.S.
Around February 7th, a truck carrying salt inside the repository caught fire. All the personnel were evacuated from the facility at that time. The U.S. Department of Energy sent in a team to investigate the fire. While they were there, a "radiation event" took place. I don't know whether the fire was connected with the "event" but I find the timing interesting.
On February 14th, the "radiation event" occurred. It is still not clear exactly what caused this "event." There are indications that radioactive processes generated hydrogen, methane, and/or or volatile organic compounds which then exploded. A air monitoring device registered airborne radiation late on the 14th. The next day, the ventilation system was switched to a filtration mode which reduced the possibility of releases of radioactive materials. In filtration mode, the ventilation system removes at least ninety nine and ninety seven hundredth of airborne contaminants.
On February 18th, plutonium was detected about one half mile from the repository indicating that there must have been a release of some radioactive materials into the environment. Radioactive materials were also detected by a monitor that was over a mile and a half from the repository. Included in the release were small amounts of plutonium and americium which are very toxic radioactive isotopes. Air monitors eleven miles from the repository have not registered any radioactivity.
Authorities have been downplaying the "event." They have reassured the public that there is absolutely no danger from the radioactive release. Information has been lacking on exactly where the wind may have blown the radioactive materials. The Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring and Research Center (CEMRC) stated that the plutonium and americium are heavy and the wind would not carry them far from repository. However, the CEMRC is offering free testing for anyone within a hundred miles of the repository.
The materials in the repository are highly radioactive and the authorities are going to wait for at least a month before sending people in to investigate the causes of the "event." They have scheduled a public meeting to answer people's concerns about the "event." There are still a number of important questions that have not been answered. They do not know what caused the release. They don't know exactly what caused the radioactive materials to travel over a mile and a half from the repository. They do not know exactly what quantities of which radionuclides were released. They do not know where all the radionuclides that were not trapped by the filters wound up.
The WIPP is an important repository for the long term storage of plutonium contaminated wastes from nuclear weapons production. If WIPP is shut down for a long period while the "event" is researched, it may cause a problem with the disposal of transuranic wastes and the production of nuclear weapons in the U.S.
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, New Mexico:
