WIPP News:

Experts from the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site have arrived in Carlsbad to train WIPP employees on replacing the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters – a crucial component of the WIPP Ventilation System.

New filters are required to replace those that captured material following the Feb. 5 fire and Feb. 14 radiation event. The Savannah River Site is utilizing their expertise in changing contaminated filters to prepare WIPP site employees for potential levels of contamination on the filters. To aid with training, WIPP constructed a mock-up of the filter bank to provide workers with hands-on experience with the process and equipment that will be used.

Shipping container maintenance

Today, waste handling employees returned to the WIPP site to remove waste packages from four containers used to ship transuranic waste. Routine surveying of shipping containers is completed periodically to allow for off-site maintenance. The containers arrived at WIPP prior to the February events. After the containers are evaluated and any maintenance work is complete, these additional containers can support the effort to remove a portion of the transuranic waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory by the June 30 deadline.

Community Meetings Scheduled

Wednesday, April 23 – Carlsbad Mayor Dale Janway and DOE will co‐host a weekly town hall meeting featuring updates on WIPP recovery activities. The meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Carlsbad City Council Chambers, 101 N. Halagueno St. Live streaming of the weekly meetings can be seen at http://new.livestream.com/rrv/.