Internal Memo: 10 times more WIPP nuclear drums risk exploding than media reported – Expert: Data shows increasing amount of radioactivity going into environment – Official: Something “caused drum to later catch fire”

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Internal Memo: 10 times more WIPP nuclear drums risk exploding than media reported — Expert: Data shows increasing amount of radioactivity going into environment — Official: Something “caused drum to later catch fire”; Gov’t should investigate if truck fire & electrical surge led to the radiation release (ENENews, July 5, 2014):

AP, July 4, 2014 (emphasis added): Teams of scientists and engineers are still trying to determine exactly what caused a barrel [at New Mexico’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP)] from Los Alamos to burst […] Despite hundreds of experiments to date, investigators have been unable to create any reaction that would have caused the container to leak like it did […] The accident has […] indefinitely shuttered the mine […] According to the memo obtained by The Associated Press, [Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Principal Associate Lab Director Terry Wallace] told employees at a meeting Monday that the probe is focused on 16 barrels of highly acidic, nitrate-salt-bearing waste, including the drum that leaked at [WIPP]. Ten of the other barrels [11 total, including the one that ruptured] are also underground at the [WIPP] mine […] Wallace is quoted in the memo as saying that a technical review “identified certain conditions that might potentially cause an exothermic reaction inside a drum. Among them are neutralized liquids, a low pH and the presence of metals.”

According to the AP’s article above, the investigation is now focusing on 11 barrels in the WIPP underground, yet only a few weeks ago the AP reported: “Officials say 6… potentially explosive containers of waste [were shipped] from Los Alamos National Laboratory… [Five] are being stored at a site in West Texas [and] one at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant [believed to be the source of the radiation leak].

Albuquerque Journal interview with Miles Smith, EnergySolutions’ vice president of Southwest operations, July 3, 2014: “We don’t believe the combination we put into the drums, we don’t think it has the ability to start burning on its own. It needs an outside source of ignition […] It doesn’t look like the kitty litter was the cause […] I don’t believe [absorbent materials] caused the explosion or the fire. [One of the two suspect products, an acid neutralizer, is not a problem]. Its safety sheet says it is not incompatible [The other product, a base neutralizer, is incompatible with the nitrates in WIPP waste but this neutralizer wasn’t used in the WIPP-bound barrels.] We think there are other things that caused the drum to later catch fire [there] are a lot of things out there [to investigate, including a truck fire and an electrical surge in the days before the leak.]

See also: “Very likely” multiple nuclear waste drums exploded at WIPP — Signs of fire observed — It was clearly something major

Albuquerque Journal, July 3, 2014: Don Hancock of the Southwest Research and Information Center, a WIPP watchdog, said Smith’s comments are consistent with those of state Environment Department […] but noted that no one from [Los Alamos National Lab] has weighed in. “I would say I’ve always been skeptical of the kitty litter issue,” he said. “Anybody with a cat knows that kitty litter itself is not combustible. It’s got to be kitty litter and something else.”

Don Hancock, Southwest Research and Information Center, June 25, 2014: […] the current data show that there are increased amounts of radioactivity going into the environment as contaminated filters are being changed. […] DOE presumes that the ventilation system and the exhaust shaft are too contaminated to use in a re-opened facility. On June 18, the House Appropriations Committee approved $20 million dollars […] as a down payment for new ventilation and a new exhaust shaft. […] it is very difficult or impossible to determine exactly what happened and how much contamination was released.

See also: Radiation spikes at WIPP nuclear facility — Hits highest levels since initial hours of radioactive release in February — Document link removed from official website — Gov’t a

More information:

New Mexico WIPP Nuclear Storage Facility Essentially ‘A Huge Dirty Bomb’ Waiting To Explode

Radiation Levels Spikes At WIPP, Hit Highest Levels Since Initial Hours Of Radioactive Release

WIPP Expert: “Very likely” multiple nuclear waste drums exploded, risk of more occurring; It was clearly something major… signs of fire at container holding over 500 billion Bq of Plutonium and Americium — Nuclear Engineer: “This is a huge dirty bomb”

Officials: Leakage seen on “many” nuclear waste drums in WIPP underground — We think the seals have degraded — Public “should be concerned” about another explosion — 1,000s of radioactive drums now seen as too risky to move (VIDEO)

Concern for ‘FULL PLUTONIUM FLASH’ at WIPP nuclear site that affects other drums and triggers spreading disaster – Plutonium-239 is a main radioactive material in drum that exploded – Anonymous Employee: The warnings were ignored … ‘They put us in danger’

Top Science Journal: “Time bombs” at WIPP nuclear site? “High alert over risk of new explosions” in hundreds of plutonium-contaminated drums – AP: 4 years may be needed just to seal off area where drums stored – Experts go down to check if ground ‘still stable’

Experts: Government May Never Stabilize Hundreds Of Explosive Drums Of Radioactive Waste Stored At WIPP

Officials Now Admit Over 500 Barrels Of Nuclear Waste At Risk Of Bursting Open – AP: 368 Already At WIPP Dump – Underground Storage Areas Must Be ‘Permanently Sealed’

Gov’t: ‘Cracked’ nuclear container filmed at WIPP — Expert: It “blew top off” — Reuters: “Released high levels of radiation” — 100s more drums risk similar ‘energetic reaction’ — Insider: Get forklift and remove them before another accident — Official: No ‘imminent’ public threat ‘at this time’ (VIDEO)

WIPP: ‘UNFILTERED’ PLUTONIUM Released Into Environment For 20 Days!

WIPP Workers ‘Not Permitted To Speak’ To The Press – Preparing For Radiation Levels So High, Only Robots Can Be Used

Senator: ‘Radioactive Releases From WIPP Have Been At Levels That Are A Public Health Danger’ – EPA: ‘This Is A Big Deal’

Expert: No One In The World Has Ever Dealt With Something Like WIPP Disaster – Continuous Release Of Radioactive Material ’24/7? To Environment – Nobody Knows When Leaking Will End

US Nuclear Waste Dirty-Bombs New Mexico With Plutonium – Radiation From Half-Mile Underground Reaches Atmosphere

5 Types Of Plutonium Released From WIPP; Officials Not Informing Public – Dr. Caldicott: Inhaling A Millionth Of A Gram Of Plutonium Will Induce Lung Cancer

WIPP Officials Admit New Release Of Plutonium And Americium – Nearly Double February Leak

Official: Radioactive Material Escaping Everyday From WIPP And Dispersing – Expert: Leaks From ‘UNFILTERED’ Ducts Went On FOR WEEKS

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