Diluted plutonium disposed of at Carlsbad nuclear waste site as program draws controversy

Federal nuclear waste officials announced a shipment of diluted surplus, weapons-grade plutonium was disposed of using a repository near Carlsbad last month, after it was sent to New Mexico from South Carolina, amid criticism from nuclear watchdog groups in the state.

The shipment contained plutonium diluted using a process known as “downblending” that lowered its radioactivity to meet requirements at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, where the U.S. Department of Energy disposes of transuranic (TRU) nuclear waste in an underground salt deposit.

It was brought to WIPP from the DOE’s Savannah River Site, a laboratory where the federal government develops nuclear weapons.

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After the downblending, the waste meets the definition of TRU waste, read an announcement from the DOE’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and can be legally disposed of at WIPP.

Disposal at WIPP was in response to a 2020 agreement between the DOE and State of South Carolina that called for the removal of 9.5 metric tons (MT) of plutonium waste from the state, reached after years of negotiations and litigation.

The waste was initially brought to Savannah River to be irradiated at a mixed-oxide (MOX) facility, converting the nuclear waste into fuel.

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The MOX facility was terminated in 2018 by then-Energy Secretary Rick Perry as the project was $13 billion over budget and 32 years behind schedule, read a DOE report.

But the waste remained in South Carolina, and the DOE was required by the agreement to pay $1 million a day up to a maximum of $100 million a year to the State of South Carolina after a deadline of Jan. 1, 2022, until the plutonium was removed.

In the 2020, agreement DOE opted to pay the State $600 million upfront, was relieved of making the previously required payments until 2037 and the South Carolina agreed to waive its rights to any lawsuit against the DOE.

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In 2037, according to the agreement, the DOE will pay a percentage of the payments accrued between 2022 and 2037, based on how much plutonium is left at Savannah River, and continue to do so for each year after.

NNSA Under Secretary Jill Hruby said successful first shipment of the waste affirmed the federal government’s efforts to clean up nuclear waste.

“NNSA remains committed to nuclear nonproliferation, security, and risk reduction,” Hruby said in a statement. “We are proud to demonstrate our firm commitment to these missions, and we appreciate the relationship with the states of South Carolina and New Mexico.”

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The initial shipment was announced as the DOE was underway with a public comment period on using the same “dilute and dispose” method for 34 metric tons (MT) of plutonium waste, most of which is at the Pantex Plant in Amarillo, Texas.

But this would entail shipping waste from Pantex to Los Alamos, then to Savannah River Site for final packaging before going to WIPP, meaning the waste would cross through New Mexico three times.

Opponents of this proposal in New Mexico feared the repeated trips through their state would increase the risk of exposing their communities to radiation.

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Critics oppose use of New Mexico site to dispose of plutonium

Don Hancock, nuclear waste program manager at Albuquerque watchdog group Southwest Research and Information Center said the group and others in the state opposed the project and its use of WIPP.

He said DOE’s practice of seeking approval for separate segments of the plutonium waste, rather than for all of the waste at once was intended to protect decisions already made without public input.

“DOE decided to do this before they did any of the analysis,” Hancock said. “All these documents are to give legal cover and justify decisions already made.”

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NNSA spokesman Roger Bain said the initial shipment contained plutonium waste the agency already has a right to dispose of via dilute and dispose because of a past decision issued under the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA).

That allows the method to be used for 6 MT of waste at Savannah River, and another 7.1 MT non-pit plutonium of the 34 MT under review, Bain said.

Plutonium pits are the triggers for nuclear warheads, and the DOE announced recently a goal to ramp up their production at Savannah River and Los Alamos.

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Bain said the first plutonium shipment’s success proved the DOE could continue using this method for the full 34 MT it wants to dispose of using WIPP.

“The success of this shipment demonstrates DOE and NNSA’s commitment to nuclear nonproliferation and the mission to disposition surplus weapon-grade plutonium for which NEPA decisions exist in a safe and secure manner using the dilute and dispose process,” Bain said in an email.

He said the agency planned to address transportation safety concerns during the ongoing public comment period, including public hearings planned in Carlsbad, Santa Fe and virtually later this month.

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“DOE takes transportation safety very seriously and will continue to work closely with the State of New Mexico to address state and local concerns regarding transportation of material in New Mexico,” Bain said.

“DOE transports all of the material in the Surplus Plutonium Disposition program in a safe and secure manner using licensed Type B shipping containers that have been extensively tested and validated to safely ship this material within the United States.”

But Hancock argued using WIPP as the disposal site for the plutonium, even after its diluted to meet the requirements of TRU waste, marked an undue expansion of WIPP’s mission beyond what the people of New Mexico agreed to when the facility was sited in their state.

“We don’t oppose geologic disposal. We don’t think WIPP is the right place,” he said. “WIPP has a limited mission. It was never intended for surplus plutonium. It’s already been decided. The public should be outraged.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Diluted plutonium disposed of at Carlsbad nuclear waste site