Flynn
accuses feds of blocking WIPP probe studies are beginning to reveal
the severe legacy of radiation leaks
6
September, 2014
New
Mexico’s top environmental regulator lashed out at the U.S.
Department of Energy this week, accusing it of impeding the state’s
investigation into the circumstances that led to a radiation leak
earlier this year at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad.
During
his keynote speech to an audience representing federal agencies,
industry, academia, national labs and all levels of government at the
annual Radwaste Summit in Summerlin, Nev., New Mexico Environment
Department Secretary Ryan Flynn warned that Los Alamos National
Laboratory and WIPP could face steeper sanctions from the state
because of what he characterized as Energy Department roadblocks that
have protracted the probe.
“The
problem is that Department of Energy headquarters back in Washington,
D.C., is looking at this situation through a political or [public
relations] lens, so they’ve put a noose around the scientific
personnel who can answer our questions and move this process along,”
Flynn told The New Mexican.
On
Feb. 14, a drum of nuclear waste that originated at Los Alamos burst
at WIPP, the nation’s only below-ground repository for waste
generated during decades of Cold War nuclear weapons production. The
cause of the chemical reaction that triggered the drum to rupture
remains under investigation by several federal agencies and the New
Mexico Environment Department, which holds permitting authority over
both LANL and WIPP. WIPP has ceased receiving waste indefinitely
since the release.
Increasingly
in recent weeks, the federal Energy Department has thwarted attempts
by the state Environment Department to gather information for its
investigation, according to Flynn. Six weeks ago, at a legislative
hearing in Los Alamos, Flynn lauded LANL’s cooperation with the
state investigation into the radiation leak, including the lab’s
confession to treating the suspected drum without a permit, a process
that left behind a lead-laden glove that’s being eyed as a
contributing factor in the leak. On Friday, Flynn accused the Energy
Department of muzzling scientists with crucial information about the
waste stream.
He
said at times during the state’s investigation into the leak, LANL
personnel have provided “outstanding communication” about the
possible cause of the radiation release. But when the Environment
Department has asked for documentation supporting the scientists’
observations, the Energy Department has repeatedly refused to provide
it.
“During
those positive meetings, information will be referenced, and there’s
a willingness [by LANL personnel] to provide information that’s
referenced during those meetings or presentations,” Flynn said.
“After those meetings, information gets communicated up the chain
of command and someone back at [Energy] headquarters decides that no,
they’re not going to provide that information to the state.”
Flynn
said his frustration with the Energy Department grew as its denials
of his department’s requests for information became more frequent.
“When
it happens once, it’s not really a big deal. When you start
noticing a pattern and it happens repeatedly, that’s when you start
to get really concerned,” he said.
“You’d have to ask
Department of Energy headquarters why they don’t provide certain
information and why they don’t make staff available. It would be
interesting to know how many people need to sign off before someone
at Los Alamos National Laboratory can return a phone call to me or
one of my staffers.”
A
Los Alamos spokesman referred questions to Energy Department
officials on Friday.
In
a written statement responding to Flynn’s criticisms, a department
spokesperson said: “The department is fully committed to reopening
WIPP, and will continue to work with the state of New Mexico to do so
safely and as expeditiously as possible.”
Greg
Mello, executive director of the watchdog organization Los Alamos
Study Group, echoed Flynn’s angst that the Energy Department hasn’t
openly shared details with regulators about the radiation leak and
the waste suspected of causing it.
“Anything
else is a sign of a poor safety culture and could be a danger signal
for workers and the public,” Mello said. “Mislabeling drums and
withholding information can be criminal. That’s one way serious
accidents can happen.”
Already,
regulatory penalties from the state are likely for both Los Alamos
and WIPP, according to Flynn. Potential penalties range from fines to
suspension of operations at the sites.
At
Los Alamos, treating waste without a permit and labeling waste as
less volatile than it actually is, then shipping it to WIPP are among
the violations already identified, and WIPP, at a minimum, faces
regulatory action for failing to verify the volatility of the waste
before accepting it.
“The
more we investigate, the more we’re discovering at Los Alamos,”
Flynn said.
The
state’s first sanctions against the permit-holders could be meted
out within the next 60 days, Flynn said. Regulatory actions against
LANL and WIPP are likely to be imposed in a series of steps, as each
of the violations is verified.
The
Energy Department’s reticence to cooperate could lead to stiffer
penalties, Flynn said.
“When
you’re less responsive, you’re making us have to work and fight
just to get information we need in order to our job,” he said.
“We’re less likely to provide them with any type of a downward
adjustment or credit for being upfront. We won’t do it.”
The
Energy Department’s refusal to provide information raised
suspicions among Flynn’s investigators, and regaining their trust
will be difficult, he said.
“It
takes time in order to establish credibility, and you do that by
being upfront, by being candid and by answering questions. It takes
time to establish credibility, and it can be lost in an instant,”
he said. “And the Department of Energy headquarters refuses to
provide certain information. Withholding information from our staff,
for whatever reason, that really erodes their credibility.”
And from ENENews
New Mexico Environment Department Secretary Ryan Flynn, Sept 6, 2014: “The problem is that Department of Energy headquarters back in Washington, D.C., is looking at this situation through a political or (public relations) lens, so they’ve put a noose around the scientific personnel who can answer our questions… there’s a willingness (by LANL personnel) to provide information [but] someone back at headquarters decides that no, they’re not going to provide that information to the state… it happens repeatedly, that’s when you start to get really concerned… they don’t provide certain information [or] make staff available… The more we investigate, the more we’re discovering at Los Alamos… the Department of Energy headquarters refuses to provide certain information.”
Greg Mello, Los Alamos Study Group, Sept 6, 2014: “[Not sharing this information] could be a danger signal for workers and the public. Mislabeling drums and withholding information can be criminal.”
The Santa Fe New Mexican, Sept 3, 2014: Review, relabeling of LANL waste raises questions about scope of problem… [Los Alamos National Laboratory's] review of the incident has led to uncertainty over the volatility of hundreds of other drums… The lab notified state environment officials late last month that it was re-evaluating and relabeling as “ignitable” or “corrosive” the contents of 86 drums at LANL… The Department of Energy also is reviewing and relabeling more than 300… stored in WIPP’s underground… [This] raises questions about the scope of the problem that led to the leak at WIPP.
Chris Harris, former licensed Senior Reactor Operator & engineer, Aug 28, 2014 (at 22:15 in): “It sure seems like that there’s a combination of a cover-up, and a combination of slip-shot record keeping. Now there’s talk of whether they ditched those records after the fact or before the fact, but those records are nonexistent. One would expect really good records as to what is being stored, where it’s being stored, when it was put away, when it was stored, all that – every bit of information that one would expect to have in a nuclear storage facility and these are missing, there’s a lot of information.
Fukushima
& New ACUTE Nuclear Dangers ☢ (Nuclear Hotseat)
Posts
