Waste Headed to WIPP Ignites

The Albuquerque Journal (subscription required) ^ | August 14,2003 | John Fleck

[CedarDave]

Thursday, August 14, 2003

Waste Headed to WIPP Ignites

By John Fleck

Journal Staff Writer

    A drum of radioactive waste destined for New Mexico caught fire in an Idaho laboratory Wednesday morning because of an unknown chemical inside, officials said.
    The Advanced Mixed Waste Treatment Facility at the Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory was evacuated for several hours after the drum caught fire, said lab spokeswoman Ann Riedesel.
    No radiation escaped and no workers were injured, she said.
    Workers were preparing the drum for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico when the fire happened, Riedesel said.
    The drum contains radioactive sludge from the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant in Colorado. In the 1970s, drums from Rocky Flats were sent to Idaho for long-term storage until a permanent waste dump could be built.
    Workers preparing the drum for shipment noticed that it was bulging, indicating some sort of gas buildup inside, according to Riedesel.
    In the past, the problem has been solved by simply venting the drum, allowing the gas to escape, according to Riedesel.
    "We've vented dozens already without incident," she said.
    In this case, however, flames leapt from the drum as soon as it was vented. Riedesel said lab workers have not identified what the gas was that caused the fire.
    The incident happened as the Energy Department and Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., push for a relaxation of rules requiring testing to make sure there are no dangerous gases inside waste drums headed to WIPP.
    Domenici argues that the tests are not needed because no such dangerous gases have been found in tests conducted on more than 40,000 such drums since WIPP opened in 1999.

Copyright 2003 Albuquerque Journal

[CedarDave]

This will get the anti-nuke crowd all stirred up. Nothing like a little burning radioactive waste in the morning!!

[fishtank]

In a related story:

"Whale flatulence stuns scientists"

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/963914/posts

[HiTech RedNeck]

Domenici argues that the tests are not needed because no such dangerous gases have been found in tests conducted on more than 40,000 such drums since WIPP opened in 1999.

Under assumption that future waste will always have the same character as past waste?

Anyhow, sounds like someone needs to be reminded: NO SMOKING by the radioactive waste!