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WIPP: Lessons in transportation safety
As part of a future consent-based approach by the federal government to site new deep geologic repositories for nuclear waste, local communities and states that are considering hosting such facilities are sure to have many questions. Currently, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico is the only example of such a repository in operation, and it offers the opportunity for state and local officials to visit and judge for themselves the risks and benefits of hosting a similar facility. But its history can also provide lessons for these officials, particularly the political process leading up to the opening of WIPP, the safety of WIPP operations and transportation of waste from generator facilities to the site, and the economic impacts the project has had on the local area of Carlsbad, as well as the rest of the state of New Mexico.
T. Hayashi, K. Kobayashi, Y. Iwai, T. Yamanishi, M. Nishi, K. Okuno, R.V. Carlson, R.S. Willms, D. Hyatt, B. Roybal
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 34 | Number 3 | November 1998 | Pages 521-525
Fueling and Tritium Handling Technology (Poster Session) | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A11963665
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A series of planned tritium release experiments into the Tritium Systems Test Assembly (TSTA) tritium processing rooms (3000 m3), were performed under the US-Japan collaboration program at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). These experiments were carried out to acquire data on the behavior of tritium in an actual tritium facility. These experiments were performed safely with no impact on the environment or worker safety using 37 GBq (1 Ci). The results showed that the migration of tritium within the facility was dominated by the residual airflow in the room and reached a uniform value in 30 ~ 40 minutes. After restoring the normal once through ventilation (5 air changes per hour), room tritium levels decreased to background in less than 1 hour. Residual surface contamination was detected (max. 1 Bq/cm2 level). Residual contamination levels were found to be in order of decreasing contamination: linoleum > epoxy coating > acrylic resin > butyl rubber > stainless steel, from soaking results. The surface contamination increase as a result of the tritium release, was reduced to background with the normal ventilation within a few days.