A Coalition Opposing the Expansion of WIPP

 

 

 

Dear Folks,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because the drum explosion and radioactive release in 2014 contaminated the air underground and damaged the filter building that filtered radioactive exhaust air, since then, underground workers have had only about 25% of the air they need.

 

 

 

This problem would have been solved within a year by the New Filter Building that was being constructed, but NWP, the WIPP contractor, and DOE/WIPP managed the New Filter Building contract so badly that construction has stopped. Even the the Government Accountability Office (GAO) seems to think NWP/DOE/WIPP are unable to manage such a large contract competently.

 

 

 

Without the New Filter Building, NWP is planning on cranking up the exhaust fans they haven't used in 6 1/2 years and venting the contaminated underground air directly into the environment—without filtration. First there will be some tests and if all goes well, unfiltered, contaminated air will be vented continuously from WIPP (except when waste is being emplaced) for the indefinite future.

 

 

 

Under their modeling, the maximum dose to a nearby individual will be very small and will mostly affect WIPP employees. However, safety and competence at WIPP have not improved since the drum explosion in 2014, as the New Filter Building problems and this 700-C fan venting plan show. How can we have any confidence that they will actually be able to keep to their limit, considering their history of incompetence and mistakes? The lack of air problem is a problem of DOE's and WIPP's own making which they have compounded again and again, by their continuing mistakes. Now they want to solve their problem the quick & dirty way, by dumping it into the public environment. So much for the  state Environment Department permit requirement that WIPP "Start clean. Stay clean."

 

 

 

 

 

And NWP downplays what the effects will be, ignoring that radioactive particles are forever. Their intentional, semi-continuous release will be added to the larger WIPP release from 2014 and both will be added to the huge release from the Trinity Atom Bomb test in 1945. None of this goes away, but is suspended and re-suspended, taken up by crops and livestock, and breathed from the air.

 

 

 

Supposedly, NWP/DOE/WIPP will have an online townhall meeting, possibly Tuesday morning, to discuss the first 700-C test (unfiltered venting for 4 hours), then possibly a longer "balancing test." They are pushing everything so quickly because they're in a great hurry to meet their work deadlines. Ironically, these are "cleanup" deadlines.

 

However, there is no mention of this meeting on their website at https://wipp.energy.gov/700c-restart.asp and the tests and the 700-C fan venting plan have not been widely publicized. There is a Fact Sheet, a "justification" for the venting and more documents on the website, but some of the information contains mistakes and there is no information in Spanish. The Radiological Monitoring Plan that is referenced in some of the online documents is also not posted. The haste with which NWP/DOE/WIPP are going forward with the venting plan and the lack of public involvement are concerning—especially, coming so soon after the debacle of the New Filter Building construction halt.

 

 

 

 

Make your concerns known by emailing NWP/DOE/WIPP at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and ask:

 

1. Why have they not better publicized their plan to vent unfiltered, radioactive air into the environment?
   
   
2. Will there be a townhall or some kind of information meeting for the public to discuss this plan? When will it be held and will there be enough advance notice so that the public can inform themselves about the plan and arrange to attend?
   
   
3. Can the meeting be held after 5:00 pm so more people can attend?
   
   
4. How can the Spanish speaking public be included and informed about the plans and the town hall meeting? Have NWP/DOE/WIPP advertisd in newspapers that have articles in Spanish, especially in the local area (50 mile radius of WIPP)? Have they put notices about the plan and the meeting on Spanish-speaking radio stations, especially those that serve the Southeast New Mexico area near WIPP?
   
   
5. How can those without adequate internet access be included and informed about the plans and how can they have the equivalent of the online meeting during this pandemic? Again, have NWP/DOE/WIPP advertised in state newspapers and put notices on the radio statewide, but especially in the local area around WIPP?
   
   
6. Despite the paper on their website, Rational for Considering Restart and Temporary Use of 700-C Ventilation System, how can they justify adding more contamination to an area that is already heavily contaminated with radioactive and hazardous materials and has a history of poor health, high cancer death rates and low life expectancies—simply to make work underground proceed more efficiently to meet arbitrary waste emplacement deadlines?
   
   
7. And whatever else you might want to ask!