WIPP - update

WIPP Ventilation System 'Unstable', Possibly Due To Underground Explosion, Another Explosion Possible?

According to a news report by the WIPP operations team, the ventilation system has problems. Although it has not been made public, at least one blogger believes it is because the plutonium release is not due to a ceiling collapse, but due to a gas explosion, which ruptured one or more radioactive waste container(s).

Methane, radioactive hydrogen and tritium gas are all coming out of these containers, and the first two are explosive. Because the ventilation system was damaged in the first explosion, another larger explosion is also possible and that would knock out all HEPA filters, thus allowing full blown radioactive particles and gases without filtering into the air, and exposing millions of people downwind to plutonium, americium and many more transuranic elements plus radioactive gases. 

http://pissinontheroses.blogspot.com/2014/02/high-risk-of-new-large-plutonium.html

There is 'evidence' of anything yet, because no one can go down into this facility, due to the high radiation levels. So you have to listen 'between the lines' as the WIPP people try to say what they think may be going on. Their previous theory is that a ceiling collapsed and damaged some containers. But this new news release does not make sense with a ceiling collapse, but it does make a lot of sense if there was an explosion of a container. Who knows what is going on down there, but it may pay to be safe, rather than be surprised and not be ready for the worst. 

Best case, it is a minor incident, and it will be resolved in the next few days. Worst case, this thing can get much worse, very quickly. So if you are a best case, worst case kind of person, now you have the information you need. If you can't handle the worst case scenario information, well, label all of this as fear mongering and go in peace. Hopefully it will all work out, and be ok. 

End

WIPP Ventilation System 'Unstable', Possibly Due To Underground Explosion, Another Explosion Possible? via @AGreenRoadhttp://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/02/wipp-ventilation-system-damaged.html

For more info;

Radioactive Plutonium Plume Coming Out of New Mexico's WIPP – Geological Nuclear Radioactive Waste Isolation Pilot Plant; via @AGreenRoad http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/02/radioactive-plutonium-plume-coming-out.html

More articles like this;

Long Term Storage Of Nuclear Fuel, Nuclear Waste Problems/Issues http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/p/recycling-or-long-term-storage-of.html

Nuclear waste in limbo after accident at New Mexico plant

As operations at the United States’ first nuclear waste repository remain on hold due to a radiation leak that worked its way above ground, concerns are being raised about the wisdom of expanding such an initiative.

RT,

28 February, 2014

As RT reported on Thursday, the fact that at least 13 employees at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico, have tested positive for radiation exposure doesn’t make the current situation easier to defend for pro-nuclear advocates.

Complicating the situation further is the fact that there are multiple shipments to the plant on hold as a result of the leak. As noted by the Associated Press, this includes what remains of the roughly 4,000 toxic waste barrels from the Los Alamos National Laboratories, currently stored outside and placed under minimal protection.

Yet even as concerns grow over the leak and its fallout, there are few real alternatives available when it comes to disposing leftover waste and equipment related to the development of nuclear weapons.

Currently, the WIPP is one of three global deep nuclear waste dumps, storing radioactive material 600 meters underground in salt tunnels. The Department of Energy is spending $5 billion a year to clean up waste associated with US nuclear development, but the recent leak has also temporarily put on hold the possibility that WIPP could begin accepting hotter, liquid waste from other sites around the country.

In a previous report, RT noted it could still take weeks to learn what caused the leak to occur in the first place, since officials are unsure of the true nature of the problem. Any plans to expand the plant’s intake would be delayed until after that cause is determined.

According to the AP, scientists are also looking at ground and water samples to determine the extent of the leak, since air monitors roughly half a mile away from the plant have picked up traces of radiation.

Already, though, Don Hancock of the watchdog group Southwest Research and Information Center considers the WIPP a failure in terms of safety, and has cast doubt on the entire operation in spite of repeated claims by officials that there is no threat to the public.

"There's a whole lot of stuff that we don't know," Hancock said to the AP. "A lot more sampling that needs to be done.

"I'd say the push for expansion is part of the declining safety culture that has resulted in the fire and the radiation release," he added. "I've been talking to (DOE Carlsbad field office manager) Joe Franco and other people for a while about my concern that we all can get a little complacent when we think we know what we're doing and everything is just fine."

Farok Sharif of the Nuclear Waste Partnership, which runs the plant, responded to the allegations of slipshod safety measures by saying they are “absolutely not true.” He told the news service that all of the plant’s safety systems have worked as intended, and that the current incident will only make the WIPP safer in the future.

"A lot of people are just jumping up and down and wanting us to shut down," he said. "But that's not the case here. We've designed this facility to look at these types of accidents and we've planned on making sure that we continue to protect our employees and we protect the environment. And our system worked as designed."