Waste Isolation Pilot Plant

The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant ( WIPP ) is a repository for radioactive waste, which was built in a salt formation near Carlsbad in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The plant is used for the disposal of waste with a high content of alpha emitters (so-called " transuranic waste ").

Since 1955 salt formations have been considered for the emplacement of radioactive waste into consideration in the United States. The construction of the WIPP began in 1980. In March 1999, the plant with the first delivery of radioactive waste from the Los Alamos National laboratorys was put into operation. Since then, the transuranic waste from nine to be there at a depth of approximately 650 m with military tasks involved U.S. plants ( Rocky Flats, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory, Hanford Site, and others) stored. The storage area consists of eight fields (panels), each with seven track chambers ( rooms). The storage capacity is around 180,000 m³. Should be a total of approximately 300 million In Storage GBq, but the activity is omitted not only to Transuranium Elements.

WIPP is located in a very sparsely populated area, the location - province Eddy County has a population density of 5 persons per square kilometer.

For WIPP plans were updated in 2004, which were originally created for the other U.S. nuclear waste site, Yucca Mountain in Nevada. For a warning of the dangers of nuclear waste to people over many generations had in 1981 a working group designed a concept that was created according to the principles of the so-called Atomsemiotik. For this purpose, a large plant on the surface is to be constructed on the repository: The draft stipulates 32 monoliths, forming a square, include 16 other monoliths in the interior of 3 km long earthen walls. On these available in English, Spanish, Russian, French, Chinese, Arabic and Navajo: This is dangerous radioactive waste. Under no circumstances dig or drill. At the center of more detailed information are provided together with cartoon -like illustrations, once on the ground, even in an underground chamber. The warning system is to be installed only if the repository full and a hundred years of decay time has passed under control of the U.S. Department of Energy, according to which the bearing is to be sealed. This is meant to last about 2133. Therefore, it remains unclear whether these plans are implemented.

Critics, among other things, that the salt layer is not completely dry.

Mid- February 2014 were measured in the caverns elevated levels of radioactivity, as no people in the background were active. The incorporation was stopped, the Department of Energy (DOE ) began an investigation. This is the first incident of the WIPP. With 13 employees, the plant has been demonstrated that they have inhaled americium or plutonium in very small amounts, medical measures were not deemed necessary. On the surface were slightly elevated values ​​found significantly below the danger threshold. In the following days, the number of affected workers was corrected to 21. According to the DOE comes as cause damage to one or more barrels due to a ceiling collapse in one of the chambers into consideration. Whether a connection with the fire of a truck in the plant, which had occurred nine days before the event is, is unclear.