Prepping to Enter One of Hanford's Most Hazardous Rooms 

dsmithereen1 Looks like they did a GREAT job 😖

"We're gonna figure out what to do about the later" *40 years go by*

Actually, the WIPP barrel leak was the consequence of chemical reactions, primarily nitric acid with organic kitty litter. The amount of radioactivity that was released was small - and is more a testament to the sensitive WIPP radiation detection systems. The precautions being taken reflect the conservatism of the Department of Energy. Dr. James Conca offers an excellent May 25, 2014 commentary at his Forbes blog: www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2014/05/25/response-to-nuclear-kitty-litter-is-moving-fast/2/

All the experts involved agree that the breach of the barrel and the gas explosion that followed were due to a chemical reaction. There is no consensus that the breach event was caused as a result of nitric acid reacting with the organic kitty litter type absorbent. The packaging standards call for the acids to be treated with a neutralizing agent. More importantly, no forensic analysis has been done on the ruptured barrel which remains with all the other waste containers that were placed in Room 7 of Panel 7 of WIPP. Various DOE labs have attempted to recreate the conditions that may have led to the breach event, using all the internal knowledge they have of the materials that went into these barrels, but they still have not seen the suspected reaction. The swipe surveys near the breached barrel have read as high as 40,000 disintegrations per minute (DPM) which indicates that the radioactivity releases was not small. It’s going to take at least many months to decontaminate the WIPP underground drifts and shafts before it can be operated again. Initially, WIPP personal thought that the alarm was false and they allowed workers to return. Outside analysis, from a downwind monitoring station, indicated the release was real so some WIPP personal exposure occurred that wouldn’t have happened if the initial alarm was believed. As a former manager at WIPP Dr. James Conca is well known to be a strong supporter of WIPP and nuclear power production despite the rather troublesome findings in the following linked DOE report. Accident Investigation Report energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2014/04/f15/Final%20WIPP%20Rad%20Release%20Phase%201%2004%2022%202014_0.pdf I suggest not relying on the public relations spokespeople from DOE for information since it is their job to put the agency in the best possible light using many media tools to reach a public that is often keep in the dark about potentially embarrassing internal operations.

+Tamber Bliss Well the incident happened in 1976. He lived until he was age 75. Did you know him? How was his quality of life? Was he paid because of the incident in retirement?

+Gene Nelson 2.14 million year half life!? Good gravy! I thought it was just a few thousand years? This stuff is beyond dangerous, its life threatening to humanity. Good thing we're innovating new ways to safely deal with this mess.

@@ElConquistador24 a 2.14 million year half-life means it's not very radioactive.