nuclear-news

CCNS Asks Why LANL’s Area G Waste Handling Lacks Proper Safety Documents,  

Some paperwork has remained unresolved for years.  For example, since at least 2016, LANL does not have compliant safety documents for nuclear facilities, such as the Area G dump.  These documents, called documented safety analysis, serve to identify and analyze the hazards associated with the work.  Nuclear facilities are required to respond to the analyses in ways that will protect workers, the public and the environment.  Some elements of safety documents include fire protection calculations, computer modeling for the dispersion of contaminants, and analyses of the efficiency of the operating controls to prevent releases.  The Area G safety documents have languished since 2016 – even though LANL continues to handle, treat, and store plutonium-contaminated and hazardous waste there.

Roscetti said there are about 3,100 drums containing radioactive and hazardous waste sitting above ground at Area G.  These wastes are destined for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), but need to be treated or repackaged before shipment.

Based on the current shipping rate, if all 3,100 above-ground drums were sent to WIPP at a maximum of 42 drums per shipment, it would take about 18 months.  But the amount of radioactivity in each drum dictates how many drums make up each shipment.   In the meantime, newly generated waste would be shipped into Area G.