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’

– 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” (ENENews, June 8, 2014):

Sante Fe New Mexican, June 9, 2014: On the night of Feb. 14, waste in an underground salt cavern in Southern New Mexico created so much heat the drum’s lid cracked. Radiation leaked out. Heavy bags of magnesium oxide stacked on top of the containers to prevent leaks shifted and disintegrated from the force of the reaction. […] The parent waste drum came from a waste stream including liquids such as hydrochloric and nitric acids, kerosene, methanol, silicone oil, nitrate salts, heavy metals and two main radioactive isotopes — plutonium-239 [the primary fissile isotope used for the production of nuclear weapons] and uranium-238. Ascarite, diatomaceous earth, vermiculite and kitty litter were added to soak up any liquids. […] “A lot of the drums we opened up had a lot of liquid,” said one former employee familiar with the process, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak with the media. […] EnergySolutions also switched from a clay-based kitty litter to Swheat, an organic kitty litter, for absorbing fluids. It is unclear why the contractor made the switch or whether LANL approved the switch, and lab officials wouldn’t comment. The former employee familiar with the repackaging process said EnergySolutions staff tried to warn the company’s administrators that the switch in kitty litter was a bad idea. The nitrate salts and the wheat-based kitty litter created a combustible mix, according to chemists. The warnings were ignored, the employee said. “They put us in danger, too,” he said. EnergySolutions did not respond to multiple requests for comment […]

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DC Bureau — Natural Resources News Service, by Joseph Trento, June 5, 2014:
On Valentines night, one of the now suspect 500 waste drums from DOE’s Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) blast open inside DOE’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP). Casks filled with 3.2 million cubic feet of deadly radioactive wastes remain buried at the crippled plant. That huge facility was rendered useless. Investigators believe the waste drums from Los Alamos were incorrectly packed under DOE supervision and one of them exploded. […] after the explosion, there are still 367 suspect storage canisters that came from LANL that are still at WIPP. […] when the explosion took place in Panel 7 [Panel = A “huge storage room”], Panel 6, left open, could still be contaminated. State Environment Secretary Ryan Flynn told local newspapers, “I agree those Panels need to be closed immediately.” If the blast turned into full plutonium flash, other drums in Panel 6 could be affected and the disaster spread, which is why it is vital for workers at WIPP to know what is in the containers and where they are located.

– 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