CARLSBAD, N.M. – In a new fact sheet, DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) chronicles the significant progress in recovery efforts at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in the two years since a truck fire and radiological release at the site.

   CBFO and management and operations contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) have made strides in mine stability and habitability and reduced radiological risk by installing continuous air monitors and fire suppression and ventilation systems, among other actions.

   The site also made improvements to all safety management programs in response to the Accident Investigation Board, which completed an exhaustive investigation at WIPP and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The board examined the cause of the radiological release at WIPP and identified managerial controls and safety measures necessary to prevent or minimize the probability or severity of a recurrence of this type of accident.

   DOE and NWP will complete readiness activities to ensure all equipment, people and procedures are thoroughly tested and ready to resume plant operations in 2016. Those activities culminate with operational readiness reviews before DOE and regulators authorize the start of WIPP’s waste emplacement.

   For in-depth coverage of WIPP’s recovery progress, see the WIPP Recovery Fact Sheet.