CARLSBAD CURRENT-ARGUS - A brief history of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, New Mexico.
A fan that could release radioactive particles at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant could be tested this week assuming weather conditions are ideal.
The U.S. Department of Energy and operations contractor for WIPP Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) planned to restart a fan to improve airflow in the underground section of the facility where low-level nuclear was is permanently disposed of.
More airflow was needed in the underground, officials said, to allow mining and other maintenance activities to occur while improving safety for workers.
The fan would operate without filtration, meaning it could not be used during waste emplacement activities.
More: WIPP: 'Minimal' radiation release expected in use of contaminated fan
And with newer, more restrictive air quality controls put in place in February 2019, it became more difficult to conduct underground operations as margins of exposure limits for nitrogen dioxide from diesel equipment and other airborne chemicals were reduced.
Most of the emissions were reported during mining and ground control operations, and the fan would only be used during such activities.
The 700-C fan was shut down due following a 2014 accidental radiological release where areas of the underground were contaminated and subsequently closed off to workers.
More: WIPP moving ahead with use of fan that could release radioactivity into environment
The decision to restart the fan and preemptively test for its potential to release radiation followed NWP’s firing of its subcontractor hired to rebuild WIPP’s ventilation system and the denial by the New Mexico Environment Department of a temporary authorization to construct a new utility shaft – both projects intended to improve airflow at the underground.
But WIPP officials denied that the fan’s restart was related to delays in the other ventilation projects, as discussion on restarting the fan dated back to at least two years when it was found to be in better condition than the other two in the array.
The fan would be used until the new ventilation system was available, expected in about two years.
More: What did the U.S. Department of Energy achieve at New Mexico nuclear sites in 2020?
The four-hour test planned for the week of Jan. 11 would also include environmental sampling to determine the amount of radiation released and would see other work activities at the site halted.
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