It was almost a go.  But DOE's hope of resuming shipments of transuranic waste from Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago skidded to a halt last week because of a punctured drum.  The drum didn't contain remote-handled transuranic waste from Argonne, but rather contact-handled waste from Los Alamos National Laboratory.  The drum had already been emplaced underground at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant and was being checked one last time.  While filling out the final paperwork, a technician noticed a puncture in one drum in a pack of seven.  DOE evacuated the underground at WIPP while workers took samples to determine whether radiation had leaked from the drum.  Fortunately, no radiation was detected. 

As a result of the incident, DOE implemented a "safety pause" during which workers at WIPP are reviewing the incident and examining operating procedures.  DOE is also conducting an investigation of the incident, which is the first of its kind at WIPP.  As a result of the safety pause, the transfer of an empty RH 72B container (shown above) to Argonne was delayed, therefore loading could not take place in time for the first shipment scheduled for August 7.  Instead, the first shipment will take place this week, with two trucks departing WIPP rather than just one as previously planned.

To read about the punctured drum and DOE's response, click here.

In other WIPP-related news, on July 31, the Midwestern states held a teleconference with their colleagues in the Northeast to identify potential routes for transuranic waste shipments from DOE's so-called "small quantity sites" in New York and Pennsylvania.  These shipments will head to Idaho starting a few years from now.  The interregional discussions will continue later this month as the Midwest works with the states in the South to evaluate potential routes from three small quantity sites in Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky. 

On July 10, DOE eliminated all siting activities related to its Global Nuclear Energy Partnership, or GNEP.  Two sites in Illinois and one in Ohio had previously been under consideration. The department acted as a result of over 14,000 comments received during the scoping process for the programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) on the GNEP program.  In addition to halting all siting activities, DOE will modify its plans for the PEIS to consider other alternative open and closed fuel cycles.  At issue is whether the U.S. should embark on a reprocessing, or recycling, program for spent nuclear fuel or just dispose of it in a national repository. 

DOE intends to issue a draft PEIS on GNEP this month, followed by public hearings.  The sites formerly considered for GNEP facilities may, indeed, be looked at in the future depending on whether DOE decides to pursue reprocessing.  Consideration of any sites would be the subject of a separate environmental impact statement, including public hearings.

Visit DOE's GNEP website to view the announcement.
Read correspondence from Argonne National Laboratory on this topic.