Update from the 5/8 ‘Town Hall’ held by WIPP contractor in Carlsbad:
They’ve identified a LANL waste stream that seems to contain ‘nitrate salts’ and organics that may have vented and caused the event. However, they have NOT formed a strategy nor a cause of action for identifying and removing the specific drum to find out what happened. There appears to be many questions about a number of ‘high-activity drums’ that, on LANL’s website, state they were ‘unvented’ despite all the official statements about every container being shipped to WIPP required to be vented. The answer re the story on LANL’s website below
http://www.lanl.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2008/November/11.25-wipp-shipment.php
was, “I’ll have to go look at that” and other generalities.
Bottom line: They know nothing. They’re also asserting they can ‘decontaminate’ the mine to restore operations. They’re also talking seriously that, if it’s ‘just one drum’ about leaving it in place, sealing Panel 7 and restoring shipment operations for storage/disposal.
They’re still looking at it, investigating...but they’re also formulating a ‘move forward strategy’ without adequate information to address community concerns.
Just fyi. I’ll post a link if someone writes a better story than my generalized summary.
The Town Hall link is here, fwiw
http://new.livestream.com/rrv/wipptownhall9
There is no index I’ve yet seen for the town hall vids. However, you can view prior town hall vids by changing the end number (9, in this case) to bring up a prior town hall. #8, for example, was the 5/1 town hall...
Gawd...”green kitty litter” is what they’re blaming it on (theory)
http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/nuke-expert-believes-kitty-litter-switch-led-to-wipp-leak/article_99d82721-b20c-5991-8f41-f03424714c9d.html
“Scientists” that designated using kitty litter for its properties in stabilizing some wastes didn’t notify Purchasing that a mitigation component of nuclear safety shouldn’t be changed without consulting them?
This is similar to some idiot substituting G5 bolts for G8 awhile back on helicopters.
The question, then: What else is in the barrels that they neither were informed of nor tested for?
and
What of the barrels of waste in the TRUpacks sitting on trucks in the sun? Drying out? Ya think?