If there is any better argument about moving away from nuke power, I cannot think of it.

This doesn't have anything at all to do with nuke power.

Nor would it be a good argument if it did. There are FAR better arguments... and I support nuclear power.

management of this facility is horrifying.

snip from the article>

After the Valentines night explosion, investigators discovered that there was no accurate inventory of what was stored where in the huge salt caverns. Only when WIPP workers in radiation suits were sent to photograph the blast area did DOE learn that the 55-gallon drum was one of 368 placed in WIPP storage areas 6 and 7. Called Panels, these huge storage rooms are supposed to be sealed forever once they are filled to the celling with drums of radioactive waste. Early Panels in WIPP’s history were filled and sealed (Panels 1, 2, and 5) with a 12-foot concrete explosion isolation wall, while Panels 3 and 4 were closed with a steel bulkhead and did not have an explosion isolation wall.

It was DOE’s decision to cutback on WIPP’s safety requirements to save money that is having a profound effect after the explosion. According to former DOE official Bob Alvarez, originally blast proof steel bulkheads were supposed to seal off the huge Panels once they were full. The idea was that the salt rock ceilings would eventually collapse on the drums and seal the outside world from the dangers of the nuclear materials forever. Instead, as the WIPP operations became routine, DOE first cancelled the blast proof bulkheads as too expensive and opted for metal but not blast proof bulkheads. As the WIPP site aged, those requirements were eventually ignored as well.

end snip>

The idea that nuclear waste will be stored safely for hundreds of years is obviously preposterous. The government is not serious. Do we expect that they will suddenly get serious at some future time? And that they will know what to do when that time comes?

It says something about the management at Los Alamos... not WIPP.

there was no accurate inventory of what was stored where in the huge salt caverns. Only when WIPP workers in radiation suits were sent to photograph the blast area did DOE learn that the 55-gallon drum was one of 368 placed in WIPP storage areas 6 and 7.

And how would that have changed if they had an accurate inventory? They would still have to go there in radiation suits to figure out what caused the release.

these huge storage rooms are supposed to be sealed forever once they are filled to the celling with drums of radioactive waste.

And the event occured at the active panel... so it wouldn't have been sealed regardless of the author's misunderstanding.

It was DOE’s decision to cutback on WIPP’s safety requirements to save money that is having a profound effect after the explosion.

It's pretty ridiculous fearmongering to continually refer to this as a "blast" and "explosion". Pretending that "blast-proof" doors would have made a difference is simply dishonest. The blast-proof seals were never to protect against some of the waste exploding... it was in case the roof collapsed. There was a chemical reaction that released enough heat to breach the lid of the container. You can't look at those photos and call it a "blast" or "explosion" unless you're going to stretch the term beyond all meaning. There was some heat damage to adjacent containers, there was no damage indicating an explosion.

Also... the "DOE's decision to cutback on WIPP's safety" (sic) didn't impact the event at all... let along a "profound effect".

As the WIPP site aged, those requirements were eventually ignored as well.

That's flat dishonest. They intentionally leave the reader with the impression that WIPP had decided they just don't need to seal off panels any longer. That's simply incorrect. Panel 6 was in the process of being sealed prior to the event and that was delayed when there was a truck fire that evacuated the facility.

Anything for a buck.

story. It seems like the safety of the nuclear waste is a bad combination of politics, expedience, lack of funds and probably a good bit of incompetence. Bad record keeping of such dangerous matter is just inexcusable.
I wonder if, when they talk about the economic factors of nuclear power plants and nuclear power in general, they include all the costs. The meltdowns, the ongoing costs of storage, environmental damage, the complete mess in Japan which will not even be cleaned up in my lifetime at an unfathomable cost,it seems like it is pretty damn expensive, all things considered.
Thanks for posting.

It may not cost much to actually boil the water but getting the fuel there and dealing with it afterwards is very expensive. The sooner we can get away from it the better.

There's not an argument to be made that will change what I stated either. I'm sure the pro-nuke du'rs will be along shortly to correct me but all I can say to them is good luck with that cause you're going to need it. Nuclear energy is the biggest boondoggle ever.

borne by whom? When you figure the damage done to the environment, the people injured in trying to control it, the people displaced and most likely never able to return to their homes you can't even put a price tag on it. Now they have this monumentally expensive "ice wall" which many do not think will even work but evidently they are running out of options. At some point the economic scale of just this one disaster is mind boggling and it won't be the last. Cheap energy? It is not only not cheap but when it goes bad, it really, really goes bad!

NOT Ms Bigmack