Tag Archives: the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)

Nuclear Waste Storage Sites in Rock Salt May be More Vulnerable Than Previously Thought via UT News

Posted on 2015/11/30 by yukimiyamotodepaul

AUSTIN, Texas — Research from The University of Texas at Austin shows that rock salt, used by Germany and the United States as a subsurface container for radioactive waste, might not be as impermeable as thought or as capable of isolating … Continue reading →

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Consequences of Trinity Site in New Mexico via Current-Argus

Posted on 2015/04/08 by yukimiyamotodepaul

The time was 5:30 a.m., Monday morning July 16, 1945. My grandfather, Eugene McKim, Sr., was having breakfast with my grandmother and aunt. My grandfather’s 200 acre property was two miles east of Oscuro, one of the closest towns to … Continue reading →

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Official Report: Nuclear Waste Accident Caused By Wrong Cat Litter via NPR

Posted on 2015/03/28 by kojimaaiko

A yearlong investigation by government scientists has concluded that a major accident at a nuclear waste dump was caused by the wrong brand of cat litter. The U.S. Department of Energy has released a 277-page report into an explosion that … Continue reading →

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Shale: an overlooked option for US nuclear waste disposal via Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

Posted on 2014/11/29 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Toss a dart at a map of the United States and, more often than not, it will land where shale can be found underground. A drab, relatively featureless sedimentary rock that historically attracted little interest, shale (as used here, the term … Continue reading →

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New Mexico nuclear waste accident a ‘horrific comedy of errors’ that exposes deeper problems via The Ecologist

Posted on 2014/11/29 by yukimiyamotodepaul

Last February’s explosion at the WIPP dump for long-lived intermediate-level nuclear waste from the US’s nuclear weapons program remains unexplained, writes Jim Green. But with the site’s history of ignored warnings, ‘missing’ safety culture, lack of supervision and dubious contractor … Continue reading →

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LANL officials downplayed waste’s dangers even after WIPP leak via Santa Fe New Mexican

Posted on 2014/11/16 by yukimiyamotodepaul

For Los Alamos National Security LLC, the private consortium that operates the lab, the stakes were high. Meeting the deadline would help it secure an extension of its $2.2 billion annual contract from the U.S. Department of Energy. But the … Continue reading →

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Nuclear waste dump may reopen in 2016, two years after accidents via Los Angeles Times

Posted on 2014/10/01 by yukimiyamotodepaul

The Energy Department says it hopes to resume operations at its shuttered nuclear waste dump in New Mexico by early 2016, roughly two years after two serious accidents released radioactive materials and soot throughout the 2,150-foot-deep repository. The cost of … Continue reading →

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Energy Dept. faces major hurdles to reopen New Mexico nuclear dump via Los Angeles Times

Posted on 2014/09/20 by yukimiyamotodepaul

7,000 steps are needed to reopen damaged nuclear waste dump in N.M., officials say Cost of N.M. nuclear waste dump accident could approach $1 billion The Energy Department has identified 7,000 steps needed to reopen its badly damaged nuclear waste … Continue reading →

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Concern over another WIPP drum via Albuquerque Journal

Posted on 2014/09/19 by yukimiyamotodepaul

SANTA FE – A drum at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant has been singled out as having contents – including a discarded glove containing lead – that are most similar to those in a barrel that popped open due to … Continue reading →

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New Mexico nuclear waste site may be hobbled for years via The Washington Post

Posted on 2014/09/08 by yukimiyamotodepaul

It may be years before an underground nuclear waste dump in New Mexico shuttered by a radiation leak is fully operational, and costs for decontamination and other activities to restore the facility are not yet clear, Energy Department officials said. … Continue reading →

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