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January 8, 2008
WIPP Receives 100th Remote-Handled
Waste Shipment
CARLSBAD, N.M., January 5, 2008
– Less than a year ago, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) received its first shipment of
remote-handled transuranic (RH-TRU) waste. Today, the 100th RH-TRU waste shipment safely arrived at the
Department of Energy site for permanent disposal.
 “Years of preparation went into the RH-TRU program
before the first shipment ever arrived at WIPP,” said Dr. Dave Moody, Carlsbad Field
Office manager. “Thanks to the diligent efforts of the RH team the program has been a success
and we’ve made great progress.”
To date, all RH-TRU waste shipments to WIPP have come
from the Idaho National Laboratory (INL). INL is one of the nation’s larger TRU
waste generator sites and a prime shipper to WIPP. The first RH-TRU shipment was received
on Jan. 23, 2007. Last fall, WIPP received a record of six RH-TRU waste shipments in one
week.
Two categories of TRU waste are disposed underground at
WIPP: contact-handled and remote-handled waste. RH-TRU waste has a higher dose
rate at the surface of the disposal container, requiring it to be shielded and remotely
handled by workers. WIPP began receiving contact-handled TRU waste in 1999. A revision to the
WIPP hazardous waste facility permit in 2006 paved the way for RH-TRU waste operations.
Shipments to WIPP are made in sturdy shipping containers
certified by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Since 1999, WIPP has received
more than 6,300 shipments.
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is a U.S. Department of
Energy facility designed to safely isolate defense-related transuranic waste from people
and the environment. Waste temporarily stored at sites around the country is shipped to WIPP
and permanently disposed in rooms mined out of an ancient salt formation 2,150 feet below
the surface. WIPP, which began waste disposal operations in 1999, is located 26 miles outside
of Carlsbad, N.M.
www.wipp.energy.gov
-DOE-003DR018-
Editorial Date January 8, 2008
By Sharon Barnes
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