NMED Proposes Hotter Waste At WIPP
WIPP is a repository for waste generated from the making of nuclear weapons. It is located 26 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico in a salt mine 2,150 feet underground.
The draft permit combines three previously rejected Department of Energy (DOE) permit requests. DOE originally requested that remote-handled waste be disposed at WIPP. Since the operating permit was issued by NMED in 1999, DOE has submitted several permit modification requests. Each time NMED found that DOE had not offered adequate proof that it could sample and analyze the remote-handled waste to meet the disposal criteria.
Activists are concerned that once NMED expands the types of waste disposed at WIPP the door will be open for other waste. Defense waste which can be handled directly by workers is currently disposed at WIPP. This waste was generated by the research and production of nuclear weapons.
Since 1970, the public has been concerned that WIPP would become the primary nuclear waste dump in the U.S. Many problems have surfaced regarding the proposed high-level waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. As a result, New Mexicans have become concerned that WIPP may become the nationŐs high-level waste repository as well. Recent actions by the DOE support this concern.
In December 2003, DOE determined that the waste generated from reprocessing the commercial spent fuel at the West Valley facility in New York could be disposed at WIPP. Reprocessing spent fuel from nuclear power plants extracts usable plutonium and uranium and generates large quantities of liquid high-level waste. West Vally was the primary primary reprocessing facility for the United States between 1966 and 1972. Durring that time operations at West Vally produced 600.000 gallons of high-level waste.
During 2004, hundreds of people strongly opposed DOE's plans to "rename" the high-level waste generated from reprocessing activities and bring the waste to WIPP. At the time, Governor Bill Richardson said, "DOE should not attempt to reclasify waste so that high level waste comes to New Mexico."
DOE has delayed the decision of whether to send commerical transuranic waste to WIPP on hold until June 16, 2005
On October 29, 2004, NMED Secretary Ron Curry approved the permit modification that excludes any waste that has ever been managed as high-level waste. The permit modification prohibits much of the high-level waste from Hanford in Washington State, the Savannah River Site in South Carolina, and the Idaho National Laboratory. Activists are concerned that DOE will try to modify the WIPP permit to allow for the disposal of currently prohibited waste from Hanford.
Public comments will be accepted until January 23, 2006. The public hearing is tentatively scheduled to begin on March 8. However, the comment period may be extended due to planned negotiations about the issues between citizens, NMED and DOE.
For more information about the draft resolution and to make comments please visit the New Mexico Environment Department website at www.nmenv.state.nm.us/wipp/index.html.
|
