Part 2 of 2 Parts (Please read Part 1 first)
Another area of concern to the N.M. officials and members of Congress is the fact that the DoE EM has been seeking to expand the scope of waste streams that can be sent to the WIPP. Kenny wrote in his letter that “The DOE revised its interpretation of the definition of ‘high level waste’ and developed a ‘dilute and dispose’ program to ship surplus plutonium from South Carolina to WIPP in a potential manipulation of NMED’s waste acceptance criteria as found in its state operating permit. “DOE failed to make progress in the clean-up of contamination as required by a 2016 Compliance Order on Consent. This failure continues despite the DOE EM’s congressionally approved budget for clean-up at this site.” NMED has permitting authority over both the LANL and the WIPP.
The DoE responded to Kenney’s letter with the following statement. “The Department of Energy (DOE) takes seriously its responsibility for safely cleaning up transuranic (TRU) waste generator sites in support of our country’s national defense mission. Shipments are prioritized according to the availability of certified TRU waste that meets the WIPP Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC). In accordance with the Land Withdrawal Act, TRU waste cannot be disposed of at the WIPP unless it meets strict characterization and certification guidelines established under the WAC with regulatory oversight by the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED).” The DoE said that it will continue its transparency efforts. It also strongly encourages community engagement at all public meetings, including those that are hosted at the DoE’s Carlsbad Field Office.
Kenney’s letter was a response to a December 2nd, 2021 letter from the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce calling for the GAO to carry out a program-wide review of “extreme management challenges” at the DoE EM. The DoE EM was added to the GAO’s High Risk List in 2017. It was still on that list at the time Kenney sent his letter.
The Committee response letter said, “In an effort to assist us with our oversight of EM’s cleanup efforts, the Committee would like GAO to examine the major management challenges at EM that affect its ability to reduce its environmental liabilities and make progress on long standing high-risk areas.”
The LANL has been a source of high concern in the past. They have been charged with sloppy handling of radioactive materials and inadequate documentation of radioactive waste shipped to the WIPP. A few years ago, they changed an absorbent without proper review of chemical reactions and shipped a barrel of treated waste to the WIPP. The barrel exploded in one of the underground chambers of the WIPP and radioactive materials leaked into the environment.
The WIPP had to be shut down for several years while the damage to the underground chamber was repaired. No radioactive materials would have leaked from the WIPP if they had properly sealed the chamber and if their ventilation system had worked properly. The WIPP is operating again but problems at the WIPP are still being studied.