WIPP completes mining eighth panel for TRU waste disposal
DOE-EM Update | 10/12/2021
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The mining machines are quiet. The salt haul trucks are still. After seven years, mining of Waste Isolation Pilot Plant‘s (WIPP) Panel 8 is finished.
Created from a thick layer of salt, Panel 8’s seven emplacement rooms are the next destination for transuranic waste brought to WIPP from Department Of Energy (DOE) sites throughout the country.
“We are all focused on working safely and productively in order to see Panel 8 in use next year,” said Reinhard Knerr, DOE Office of Environmental Management (EM) Carlsbad Field Office manager. “It’s been a long time coming, but Panel 8 will be ready just when we need it. My congratulations to all who made
this moment occur.”
Emplacement is currently taking place in Panel 7; when it is full, scheduled for April 2022, Panel 8 will be ready to accept waste.
Still to come in Panel 8 are power, mine phones, protective chain link on the walls, and air monitors. But the heavy lifting – the creation of its rooms – was completed recently when a continuous mining machine removed the last of the floor in Room 3.
In all, mining machines and haul trucks cut more than 157,000 tons of salt rock, equivalent in weight to 1.5 Nimitz-class aircraft carriers. Each room in Panel 8 is 300 feet long, 33 feet wide, and 15 to 16 feet tall.
To create the rooms, continuous miner machines make one pass through, guided by laser measuring devices, then gain the room’s final height by digging out the floor. The miners can cut 8 to 10 tons per minute, dumping the salt into haul trucks that transport the salt to a large hopper known as a grizzly; from there the salt hoist lifts 5 tons at a time to the surface, putting it into a 40-ton haul truck for placement on the north portion of the property.
Passageways known as drifts move people, machines, waste, and air through the mine. Next up for the mining machines are drifts that will run westward from the existing mine, connecting with a utility shaft under construction. A side drift will connect the new drift to the current air intake shaft, which is being converted to exhaust salt-laden mining air through new ductwork, fans, and a 75-foot tall exhaust stack.
ECA looks forward to hosting further cleanup discussions at the National Cleanup Workshop from December 7-9. For more information, please click here.
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"CAPITALIZING ON A NEW ERA OF CLEANUP
SUCCESS"
December 7-9, 2021
Hilton Alexandria Mark Center
Alexandria, Virginia
If you have already registered for the Workshop, you will not need to re-register. If you need to register, please click here. If you have questions, please contact Autumn Bogus at abogus@la-inc.com or (865)
300-1061.
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OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENGAGEMENT
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OCTOBER 19 & OCTOBER 21
The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is inviting public comment on proposed revisions to the National Environmental Policy Act. Two public meetings on the proposed rule will be held online on October 19, 2021 from 1:00-4:00 pm ET and October 21 from 5:00-8:00 pm ET.
To learn more or register, please visit http://nepa.gov.
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DOE Inspector General lays out work plan for FY2022
ECA Staff | 10/11/2021
Last week, the Department of Energy's Office of Inspector General (DOE's OIG) published its work plan for FY2022, which began Oct. 1. The plan lays out the schedule of audits and inspections planned for projects affecting DOE's Office of Environmental
Management (EM) and the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).
The General Audit Division of the Office of Audits will tackle end state contracting, Los Alamos pit production, liquid gaseous waste operations, canister integrity due to double-stacking glass waste storage, and work performed at Hanford's Waste Treatment and Immobilization Plan, according to the plan.
The Technology branch of the Office of Technology, Financial, and Analytics will handle the management of the Y-12 National Security Complex/Pantex Plant Unclassified Cybersecurity Program. The Financial arm will look at DOE Nuclear Waste Fund's FY22 financial statements, among other items.
According to the OIG website, "The Office works as an agent for positive change and continuous improvement in the Department’s management and program operations."
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May 4-6, 2022 WIPP Peer Exchange Meeting; Carlsbad, NM
This meeting is for ECA members only
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Read about DOE's High Level Waste Interpretation
Have questions about DOE’s recent high-level waste (HLW) interpretation? Download ECA’s Key Points and FAQs on the issue to better understand what ECA believes are the potential benefits of implementation.
Interested in learning more? Read the ECA report “Making Informed Decisions on DOE's Proposed High Level Waste Definition” at www.energyca.org/publications
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Stay Current on Activities in the DOE World
Read the latest edition of the ECA Bulletin, a regular newsletter providing a detailed brief of ECA activities, legislative news, and major events from across the DOE complex. Have suggestions for future editions? Email bulletin@energyca.org.
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Learn More about Cleanup Sites with ECA's DOE Site Profiles
ECA's new site profiles detail DOE's 13 active Environmental Management cleanup sites and national laboratories, highlighting their history, missions, and priorities. The profiles are a key source for media, stakeholders, and the public to learn more about DOE site activities, contractors, advisory boards, and their surrounding local governments.
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