Ceiling collapses at WIPP nuclear waste dump – 6 other areas at risk due to ‘significant bolt loss’ — Failures are exceeding safety levels

Flashback:

– “Patented explosives” reported inside plutonium waste drums at US nuclear facility — TV: So volatile, experts comparing it to ‘bomb’ — Official: I’m appalled we weren’t told about real and present danger — Over 5,000 drums a threat — Invisible reactions may have already occurred (VIDEO)

– New Mexico WIPP Nuclear Storage Facility Essentially ‘A Huge Dirty Bomb’ Waiting To Explode

– WIPP Expert: “Very likely” multiple nuclear waste drums exploded, risk of more occurring; It was clearly something major… signs of fire at container holding over 500 billion Bq of Plutonium and Americium — Nuclear Engineer: “This is a huge dirty bomb”

– AP: Ceiling collapses at WIPP nuclear waste dump — Officials: Roof has separated — “Ground control a significant concern for all of us” — 6 other areas at risk due to ‘significant bolt loss’ — Failures are exceeding safety levels (VIDEO) (ENENews, Jan 23, 2015):

Dept. of Energy, Jan 21, 2015 (emphasis added): Roof Separation Highlights Bolting Priority — January 15 [we] discovered that a portion of the ceiling in the Panel 3 access drift had fallen… The roof fall… was estimated to be approximately 8’ long by 8’wide and 24” thick… no WIPP personnel were present at the time of the fall. The area where the fall occurred is also known to contain low levels of radioactive contamination… WIPP geotechnical inspections conducted in November 2014 identified seven areas… where access was restricted due to significant bolt loss… The area where the roof fall occurred was one of the seven locations…

AP, Jan 22, 2015: Ceiling Collapse At WIPP… ceiling at the federal government’s underground nuclear waste repository in southern New Mexico has collapsed. The U.S. Energy Department’s Carlsbad Field Office… announced the finding Wednesday, saying it highlighted the need for workers to continue with roof bolting operations at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant.

Carlsbad Current Argus, Jan 22, 2015: WIPP discovers fallen roof… “The roof had already fallen before the geotechnical staff found it,” said Tim Runyon, WIPP recovery communications manager. The fallen piece of ceiling was found in the Panel 3 access drift… Runyon said that problems in the restricted areas of the underground were anticipated… According to the news release, during these inspections, seven areas in the underground were identified as restricted areas due to significant bolt loss… Jim Blankenhorn said at the January town hall that crews have removed over 300 damaged bolts… WIPP officials have stated that bolting is a priority in the recovery process to ensure safety in the underground.

Jim Blankenhorn, Nuclear Waste Partnership – URS, Jan 8, 2015: As many of you know, ground control has been a significant concern for all of us, in that we all realize that the mine itself is going to continue to creep with the pressures on the salt deposits… not bolting for a period of time potentially raises some concerns. We’ve been working pretty aggressively… As part of ongoing inspections of the ground conditions… they’ve identified some of the – not the backs… but the ribs, the actual sides of these drifts – we had one specific area that had a large section the was starting to come separate from the wall itself… so that was about a 200 foot area that we put new bolts in… We reported earlier that the areas right outside of panel 6 had lost a number of bolts and we needed to do bolting in that area… We’ve looked at all of the areas of the underground and the areas that are highlighted in orange are areas where we’ve seen a sufficient of bolts fail… we’re making these areas a priority… when we look at the safety tables that we have, the number of bolts per linear foot has started to exceed the tables in terms of our safety measures.

Watch Blankenhorn’s presentation (at 22:00 in)

More info:

– “Patented explosives” reported inside plutonium waste drums at US nuclear facility — TV: So volatile, experts comparing it to ‘bomb’ — Official: I’m appalled we weren’t told about real and present danger — Over 5,000 drums a threat — Invisible reactions may have already occurred (VIDEO)

– Reuters: Investigation suggests another drum with plutonium ruptured at US nuclear site — TV: “There are new concerns at WIPP that there could be another radiation leak”

– Top Official: “Really concerned” over radiation release at US nuclear site; Feds “have put a noose around scientific personnel”… they refuse to reveal crucial information about WIPP disaster — Investigators becoming suspicious — Nuclear Expert: “It sure seems like there’s a cover-up”

– LA Times: ‘Horrific Comedy’ at US Nuclear Site — “Mounds of radioactive white foam laced with plutonium” spewed out — Gov’t failed to do any radiation tests when releases peaked after ‘major’ leak — Experts: “Risk of additional eruptions is real”

– Lab Director: Expect radiation spikes coming from US nuclear facility — Gov’t pays for more air monitors to see impact on populated areas — DOE warns of ‘ignitability’ of 368 containers at site; “Significant fire risk” — Top Official: Material at WIPP “just disintegrated… got very hot, very quickly”

– ‘Green burst’ and ‘criticality event’ under investigation by gov’t in connection with plutonium release at U.S. nuclear site #WIPP — Official: Underground fire may have initiated reaction in ruptured radioactive waste drum — Concern over possible arson/sabotage?

– Gov’t Report: Nuclear waste was up to 1,600°F during WIPP plutonium release — Concern that heat ‘chemically or physically changed’ contents of other drums — Increased hazard of spontaneous reaction… may have already occurred — Over 50 drums at risk (VIDEO)

– Internal Memo: 10 times more WIPP nuclear drums risk exploding than media reported – Expert: Data shows increasing amount of radioactivity going into environment – Official: Something “caused drum to later catch fire”

– New Mexico WIPP Nuclear Storage Facility Essentially ‘A Huge Dirty Bomb’ Waiting To Explode

– Radiation Levels Spikes At WIPP, Hit Highest Levels Since Initial Hours Of Radioactive Release

– WIPP Expert: “Very likely” multiple nuclear waste drums exploded, risk of more occurring; It was clearly something major… signs of fire at container holding over 500 billion Bq of Plutonium and Americium — Nuclear Engineer: “This is a huge dirty bomb”

– Officials: Leakage seen on “many” nuclear waste drums in WIPP underground — We think the seals have degraded — Public “should be concerned” about another explosion — 1,000s of radioactive drums now seen as too risky to move (VIDEO)

– Concern for ‘FULL PLUTONIUM FLASH’ at WIPP nuclear site that affects other drums and triggers spreading disaster – Plutonium-239 is a main radioactive material in drum that exploded – Anonymous Employee: The warnings were ignored … ‘They put us in danger’

– Top Science Journal: “Time bombs” at WIPP nuclear site? “High alert over risk of new explosions” in hundreds of plutonium-contaminated drums – AP: 4 years may be needed just to seal off area where drums stored – Experts go down to check if ground ‘still stable’

– Experts: Government May Never Stabilize Hundreds Of Explosive Drums Of Radioactive Waste Stored At WIPP

– Officials Now Admit Over 500 Barrels Of Nuclear Waste At Risk Of Bursting Open – AP: 368 Already At WIPP Dump – Underground Storage Areas Must Be ‘Permanently Sealed’

– Gov’t: ‘Cracked’ nuclear container filmed at WIPP — Expert: It “blew top off” — Reuters: “Released high levels of radiation” — 100s more drums risk similar ‘energetic reaction’ — Insider: Get forklift and remove them before another accident — Official: No ‘imminent’ public threat ‘at this time’ (VIDEO)

– WIPP: ‘UNFILTERED’ PLUTONIUM Released Into Environment For 20 Days!

– WIPP Workers ‘Not Permitted To Speak’ To The Press – Preparing For Radiation Levels So High, Only Robots Can Be Used

– Senator: ‘Radioactive Releases From WIPP Have Been At Levels That Are A Public Health Danger’ – EPA: ‘This Is A Big Deal’

– Expert: No One In The World Has Ever Dealt With Something Like WIPP Disaster – Continuous Release Of Radioactive Material ’24/7? To Environment – Nobody Knows When Leaking Will End

– US Nuclear Waste Dirty-Bombs New Mexico With Plutonium – Radiation From Half-Mile Underground Reaches Atmosphere

– 5 Types Of Plutonium Released From WIPP; Officials Not Informing Public – Dr. Caldicott: Inhaling A Millionth Of A Gram Of Plutonium Will Induce Lung Cancer

– WIPP Officials Admit New Release Of Plutonium And Americium – Nearly Double February Leak

– Official: Radioactive Material Escaping Everyday From WIPP And Dispersing – Expert: Leaks From ‘UNFILTERED’ Ducts Went On FOR WEEKS