TRU Solutions: DoE Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

Salt cured  Storing nuclear waste is a contentious issue at best, but as Alan Swaby learns, the governmentÔÇÖs solution of burying it in salt mines in the New Mexico desert is probably the countryÔÇÖs best option.  Thanks to CO2 emissions and uncertainty about just how long fossil fuels will continue to power the globe, the pendulum of public opinion is once again swinging back in favor of nuclear-generated electricity. But critics always have the ace of trumps to play. No matter how clean and safe the generation itself might be, atomic power inevitably leaves its radioactive legacy for decades to come.  Now imagine how arguments against nuclear armaments fall into those same hands. Instead of a half-life measured in tens of years, transuranic radioactive wasteÔÇöderived from the manufacture and purification of plutoniumÔÇöhas a half-life measured in tens of thousands of years. Critics clearly hold all the trumps. But while there is nothing that can be done to short-circuit the period that the waste remains dangerous, the US government does seem to have established an effective way of disposing of it. The process takes place in the middle of nowhere, at the Department of EnergyÔÇÖs Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, New Mexico. Finding the right place to store or dispose of toxic waste is a contentious subject, but the desert around Carlsbad seems the ideal location. As long ago as the 1950s, scientists were advocating that salt deposits were the answer, as they provide their own indication of stability. The fact that they exist at all is proof that theyÔÇÖre surrounded by an effective hydrological barrier. In other words, if water was able to work its way into the deposits, then the salt would have dissolved away long before now. The fact that theyÔÇÖve remained intact for 250 million years, long enough for dinosaurs to have used them as salt licks, is a pretty good indication that they will remain that way for more than the next 300 years, when the current obligation to provide active control of the site comes to an end. Even then, the underground repository is designed to comply with regulatory standards for the next 10,000 years and will likely perform as designed for millions more. The beauty of salt as a containment material is that it acts more like a plastic than a solid. Under the weight of a half mile of rock above, it creeps, moving several centimeters a year. So though it wonÔÇÖt happen tomorrow, in years to come the salt will entomb everything stored inside it. The metal drums may corrode, but the waste will be encapsulated and trapped much like prehistoric insects were encapsulated in plant resin. WIPPÔÇÖs obligation is to handle only defense-related, transuranic waste, and what a varied collection of waste it is. Anything involved in the manufacture or purification of plutonium could have been contaminated: tools, clothing, structures and vesselsÔÇösome dating back to the Manhattan ProjectÔÇöhave all found their way into 55-gallon drums, waiting for a permanent home. The site for the new home was selected back in the early 1980s and started receiving waste in 1999. So far the government has spent over $1 billion on the project, and on the surface there isnÔÇÖt much to show for it: a collection of offices, some material handling equipment and a handful of airshafts. But as Dr. David Moody, DOE manager of the Carlsbad Field Office, describes, all the action is 2,150 feet below the surface. ÔÇ£The footprint where waste is deposited covers a 1-square-kilometer area comprising 10 zonesÔÇöor panels, as we refer to themÔÇöeach with seven rooms. Each panel can accommodate 100,000 drums, and so far weÔÇÖve filled four panels.ÔÇØ With a staff of 58, the DOE is permanently on site supervising and monitoring activity, but the work itself is carried out by an 800-strong workforce employed by TRU SolutionsÔÇöa division of URS, one of the largest engineering contracting organizations in the world. The general manager of TRU Solutions is Farok Sharif, who has been associated with WIPP for 20 years. In that time heÔÇÖs overseen a doubling of productivity. ÔÇ£The site was originally designed for 17 shipments a week,ÔÇØ he explains, ÔÇ£but by applying the same sort of lean thinking thatÔÇÖs found in industry, we have modified our procedures and equipment to remove unnecessary actions, and as a result we are handling up to 35 shipments a week.ÔÇØ  The waste falls into two categories: contact handling and remote handling, depending on the intensity of its radioactivity. But WIPP would prefer that none of its personnel have to rummage around nuclear waste, regardless of how careful they are. As such, it has utilized the latest inspection technology and incorporated specially designed equipment ranging from industrial CAT scans to high-intensity X-ray machines that can identify a 1-millimeter pinhole in an aerosol can buried deep amongst the rest of the detritus. WIPP is also responsible for shipping waste material from DOE facilities nationwide to Carlsbad. ItÔÇÖs an intensive, 24/7 process involving a fleet of 30 trucks and more than 100 specialized transportation packagesÔÇöthe largest such operation of its kind in the world. It also has to be the most regulated in the world. TRU Solutions has to contend with three different organizations controlling its work, always with highly prescriptive and sometimes conflicting requirements. Nevertheless, the shipping operations have recently clocked 10 million miles of transuranic transportation (20 million including return trips) without a serious incident and certainly without any radioactive release. The WIPP site is one that operates with smooth efficiency. In fact, probably the biggest challenge is finding suitable personnel willing to forgo the bright lights to live under nothing much more than starlight. Not only do they need specialist skills, they also need a particular methodical and patient temperament. With so many bright, intelligent people in the community, the job offers plenty of intellectual stimulation, even if Broadway shows are far away. And with side benefits and sweeteners that include continuing education, safety and other incentives, itÔÇÖs also a job that offers invaluable engineering experience and skills to last a whole lifetime, and not just a half-life.