Radioactive waste will continue I-80 transport

Sheila McGuire, Herald Reporter
Posted 9/30/17

Radioactive waste to continue route through Wyo. to New Mexico

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Radioactive waste will continue I-80 transport

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EVANSTON — Uinta County Emergency Management hosted the WIPP transportation safety program roadshow for local emergency response crews and officials on Monday, Sept. 25, in Evanston. WIPP (Waste Isolation Pilot Plant) is a radioactive waste geological disposal site located in southeastern New Mexico.

The focus of the roadshow was to provide education on the shipping of waste from facilities around the country to the WIPP site, including along Interstate 80 through Wyoming.

The WIPP shipments consist of transuranic waste, which is “protective clothing, tools, glove boxes, glassware, equipment, soils, sludge, air filters, and solidified waste contaminated with small amounts of plutonium and certain other radioactive materials . . . produced during nuclear weapons research, production, and cleanup,” according to a WIPP fact sheet provided by the Western Governors’ Association. 

The presenter at the roadshow was Scott Ramsay, radiological services manager for the Wyoming Office of Homeland Security. Ramsay said that the Western Governors’ Association established a strict transportation safety program for these shipments that has been implemented across the nation by the U.S. Department of Energy. 

The transportation safety program includes continuous real-time satellite monitoring and tracking of all shipments, heavily-screened and trained drivers who work in pairs to assure that the payload is always attended, multiple intensive safety inspections, avoidance of hazardous weather or road conditions, designated safe parking areas along the shipping routes and detailed security and emergency response plans. 

In addition to the safety requirements related to the transport, there are also stringent requirements of the casks the waste is packed in for shipping. A DOE WIPP fact sheet details the extensive testing the casks go through during the design phase, including free-drop tests, puncture tests, burn tests and immersion tests.

“To be honest with you folks, if this is involved in a crash I’m not worried about that package breaching,” Ramsay said. “I’m worried about what it crashed into.” 

Although more than 10,000 shipments of radioactive waste have already been safely transported to the WIPP site, all shipments were suspended in 2014, following a contamination incident at the site itself. Shipments recently resumed following repairs and the implementation of improved security measures at WIPP.

“Before the incident,” Ramsay said, “we had 17 shipments a week going through Wyoming on I-80. Since the incident, we started with two a week and we’re up to three … we may get up to 10. Right now they don’t anticipate ever returning to 17.” 

Following his presentation, Ramsay answered questions and then escorted those in attendance outside to actually view one of the transport trucks, examine the shipment casks and speak to the drivers themselves.