Waste Isolation Pilot Plant
Encyclopedia
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, is the world's third deep geological repository
(after closure of Germany
's Repository for radioactive waste Morsleben
and the Schacht Asse II
Salt Mine) licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic
radioactive waste
for 10,000 years that is left from the research and production of nuclear weapons. It is located approximately 26 miles (41.8 km) east of Carlsbad, New Mexico
, in eastern Eddy County
.
of New Mexico
. This 600-meter deep salt basin was formed during the Permian Era approximately 250 million years ago. An ancient sea once covering the area evaporated and left behind a nearly impermeable layer of salt
that over time was covered by 300 meters of soil and rock. The Delaware Basin was originally believed to be geologically similar to other basins created by evaporated seas. Geologists expected to find horizontal layers of salt and rock when drilling. However, as drilling in the salt beds began in 1975, geologists discovered that disturbances had moved the salt layer into a nearly vertical position. The geological complexity of the basin has proven to be very problematic, often causing the hollowed-out caverns to be unstable.
(DOE) began studying sites for construction of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico
in 1973, after the abandonment of a similar site in Lyons, Kansas
. The Kansas site, tentatively selected by the Atomic Energy Commission
(AEC) in 1970, was deemed unusable due to unmapped oil and gas wells located in the area. These uncharted wells were believed to potentially compromise the ability of the planned facility to contain nuclear waste. As a result of these concerns, the DOE relocated the site of the proposed nuclear waste repository to the Delaware Basin salt beds located in New Mexico.
Exact placement of the construction site in the Delaware Basin changed multiple times due to do safety concerns. Brine
deposits located throughout the Delaware Basin posed a major safety problem. The brine was first discovered when a 1975 drilling released a pressurized deposit of the liquid. Constructing the plant near one of these deposits would severely compromise the facility’s safety. The highly corrosive brine could leak into the repository and destroy the steel waste containers, thus exposing the radioactive waste
to the environment. The polluted brine could then seep into the surrounding areas and contaminate drinking wells and soil. After multiple relocations, a final site was selected. The site is located approximately 40 km east of Carlsbad.
The EEG, in addition to acting as a check for the government agencies overseeing the project, acted as a valuable advisor. In a 1981 drilling, pressurized brine was again discovered. The site was set to be abandoned when the EEG stepped in and suggested a series of tests on the brine and the surrounding area. These tests were conducted and the results showed that the brine deposit was relatively small and was isolated from other deposits. Drilling in the area was deemed safe due to these results. This saved the project valuable money and time by preventing a drastic relocation.
to transuranic
, or low level, waste. Transuranic waste often consists of materials which have come in contact with radioactive substances such as Plutonium
and Uranium
. This often includes gloves, tools, rags, and assorted machinery often used in the production of nuclear fuel
and weapons
. Although much less potent than nuclear reactor byproducts, this waste still remains radioactive for approximately 24,000 years. This change in classification led to a decrease in safety parameters for the proposed facility, allowing construction to continue at a faster pace.
The first extensive testing of the facility was due to begin in 1988. The proposed testing procedures involved interring samples of low level waste in the newly constructed caverns. Various structural and environmental tests would then be performed on the facility to verify its integrity and to prove its ability to safely contain nuclear waste. Opposition from various external organizations delayed actual testing into the early 1990’s. Attempts at testing were resumed in October of 1991 with US Secretary of Energy James Watkins
announcing that he would begin transportation of waste to the WIPP.
Despite apparent progress on the facility, construction still remained costly and complicated. Originally conceptualized in the 1970’s as a warehouse for waste, the repository now had regulations similar to those of nuclear reactors. As of December of 1991, the plant had been under construction for 20 years and was estimated to have cost over one billion dollars. At the time, WIPP officials reported over 28 different organizations claiming authority over operations of the facility.
approved the facility on the 6th of October, 1992 and the Senate
passed a bill allowing the opening of the facility on October 8th of the same year. The bill was met with much opposition in the Senate. Senator Richard H. Bryan fought the bill based on safety issues that concerned a similar facility located in Nevada
, the state for which he was serving as senator. His efforts almost prevented the bill from passing. New Mexico senators Pete V. Domenici and Jeff Bingaman
effectively reassured Senator Bryan that these issues would be addressed in the 103rd Congress. The final legislation provided safety standards requested by the House and an expedited timeline requested by the Senate.
The final legislation mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue revised safety standards for the facility. It also required the EPA to approve testing plans for the facility within ten months. The legislation stated that the security standards mandated in the bill were only applicable to the WIPP in New Mexico and not to other facilities in the United States. This clause caused Senator Bryan to oppose the bill, as he wanted safety standards mandated by the bill to apply to the facility in Nevada as well.
to begin an extensive evaluation of the facility against the standards set forth by the EPA. Evaluation of the facility continued for four years, resulting in a cumulative total of 25 years of evaluation. In May of 1998, the EPA concluded that there was “reasonable expectation” that the facility would contain the vast majority of the waste interred there.
The first nuclear waste arrived to the plant on March 26, 1999. This waste shipment was from Los Alamos National Laboratory
, a major nuclear weapons research and development facility located north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Another shipment followed on April 6th of the same year. These shipments marked the beginning of plant operations. As of December 2010, the plant had received and stored 9,207 shipments (72,422 cubic meters) of waste. The majority of this waste was transported to the facility via rail-road or truck. The final facility contains a total of 56 storage rooms located approximately 650 meters underground. Each room is 100 yards in length. The plant is estimated to continue accepting waste for 25 to 35 years and is estimated to cost a grand total of 19 billion dollars.
Following the interment of waste in the facility, the storage caverns will be collapsed and sealed with 13 layers of concrete and soil. Salt will then seep into and fill the various fissures and cracks surrounding the casks of waste. After approximately 75 years, the waste will be completely isolated from the environment. A major concern confronting planners of the plant is future human intrusion into the plant. It is expected that the location of the facility will be forgotten over the 10,000 year lifetime of the facility and that future generations will accidentally penetrate the facility and release radiation. In order to maintain the integrity of the facility, scientists were required to create a warning system for future generations. In 1992 the DOE assembled a 12 person panel of archaeologists, linguists, anthropologists, material scientists, astronomers, artists, and architects to design the warning system. This team discussed ideas such as physical barriers, psychological deterrents (such as large concrete spikes), and linguistic warnings. The final warning system is a combination of the many ideas discussed.
Criteria=
Waste that is to be disposed of at WIPP must meet certain "waste acceptance criteria".
It accepts transuranic waste generated from United States Department of Energy
activities. The waste must have radioactivity exceeding 100 nCi
per gram from TRUs that produce alpha radiation with a half life greater than 20 years. This criterion includes plutonium
, uranium
, americium
, and neptunium
among others. Mixed waste contains both radioactive and hazardous constituents, and WIPP first received mixed waste on September 9, 2000. Mixed waste is joint-regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) and the New Mexico Environment Department
.
The containers may also contain a limited amount of liquids. The energy released from radioactive materials will dissociate water into hydrogen and oxygen. This could then create a potentially explosive environment inside the container. The containers must be vented, as well, to prevent this from happening.
Principle=
Waste is placed in rooms 2,150 feet (655 m) underground that have been excavated within a 3,000 foot (1000 m) thick salt formation (Salado and Castile Formations
) where salt tectonics
has been stable for more than 250 million years. Because of plasticity effects
, salt and water will flow to any cracks that develop, a major reason why the area was chosen as a host medium for the WIPP project. Because drilling or excavation in the area will be hazardous long after the area is actively used, there are plans to construct markers to deter inadvertent human intrusion for the next ten thousand years.
The Salado Formation is a massive bedded salt deposit (>99% NaCl) that has a simple hydrogeology
. Because massive NaCl is somewhat plastic and holes close under pressure, the rock becomes non-porous by effectively closing pores and fractures. This has a significant effect on the overall hydraulic conductivities (water permeabilities) and molecular diffusion coefficients. These are on the order of ≤10−14 m/s and ≤10−15 m2/s respectively.
Message for the future=
Since 1991, the United States Department of Energy
has been working with a team of linguists
, scientists, science fiction
writers, anthropologists
, and futurists to come up with a warning system. The markers, called "passive institutional controls", will include an outer perimeter of 32, 25 feet (7.6 m)-tall granite
pillars built in a four-mile (6 km) square. These pillars will surround an earthen wall, 33 feet (10.1 m) tall and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide. Enclosed within this wall will be another 16 granite pillars. At the center, directly above the waste site, will sit a roofless, 15 feet (4.6 m) granite room providing more information. The team intends to etch warnings and informational messages into the granite slabs and pillars. This information will be recorded in the six official language
s of the United Nations
(English
, Spanish
, Russian
, French
, Chinese
, Arabic
) as well as the Native American Navajo language
native to the region, with additional space for translation into future languages. Pictogram
s are also being considered, such as stick figure
images and the iconic "The Scream
" from Edvard Munch
's painting. Complete details about the plant will not be stored on site; instead, they would be distributed to archives and libraries around the world. The team plans to submit their final plan to the U.S. Government by around 2028.
See also=
External links=
Deep geological repository
A deep geological repository is a nuclear waste repository excavated deep within a stable geologic environment...
(after closure of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's Repository for radioactive waste Morsleben
Repository for radioactive waste Morsleben
The repository for radioactive waste Morsleben is a deep geological repository for radioactive waste in the rock salt mine Bartensleben in Morsleben, district Börde in the federal state Saxony-Anhalt.-History:...
and the Schacht Asse II
Schacht Asse II
The Asse II pit is a former salt mine used as a deep geological repository for radioactive waste in the mountain range of Asse in district Wolfenbüttel in Lower Saxony, Germany.-History:...
Salt Mine) licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic
Transuranium element
In chemistry, transuranium elements are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92...
radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
for 10,000 years that is left from the research and production of nuclear weapons. It is located approximately 26 miles (41.8 km) east of Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...
, in eastern Eddy County
Eddy County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*77.4% White*1.4% Black*1.5% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.0% Two or more races*16.0% Other races*44.1% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
.
Geological History
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is located in the Delaware BasinDelaware Basin
The Delaware Basin in West Texas and southern New Mexico is famous for holding large oil fields and for exposing a fossilized reef. Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park protect part of the basin...
of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. This 600-meter deep salt basin was formed during the Permian Era approximately 250 million years ago. An ancient sea once covering the area evaporated and left behind a nearly impermeable layer of salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
that over time was covered by 300 meters of soil and rock. The Delaware Basin was originally believed to be geologically similar to other basins created by evaporated seas. Geologists expected to find horizontal layers of salt and rock when drilling. However, as drilling in the salt beds began in 1975, geologists discovered that disturbances had moved the salt layer into a nearly vertical position. The geological complexity of the basin has proven to be very problematic, often causing the hollowed-out caverns to be unstable.
Early Conceptualization and Facility Placement
The Department of EnergyDepartment of Energy
The term Department of Energy is used by government departments in a number of countries and may refer to:* Secretariat of Energy * Department of Energy * United States Department of Energy...
(DOE) began studying sites for construction of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad, New Mexico
Carlsbad is a city in and the county seat of Eddy County, New Mexico, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 26,138. Carlsbad is the center of the designated micropolitan area of Carlsbad-Artesia, which has a total population of 55,435...
in 1973, after the abandonment of a similar site in Lyons, Kansas
Lyons, Kansas
Lyons is a city in and the county seat of Rice County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,739.-History:Although Coronado's exact route across the plains is uncertain and has been widely disputed, he and his men are thought to have camped near the present...
. The Kansas site, tentatively selected by the Atomic Energy Commission
Atomic Energy Commission
Many countries have or have had an Atomic Energy Commission. These include:* Australian Atomic Energy Commission * Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission * Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique...
(AEC) in 1970, was deemed unusable due to unmapped oil and gas wells located in the area. These uncharted wells were believed to potentially compromise the ability of the planned facility to contain nuclear waste. As a result of these concerns, the DOE relocated the site of the proposed nuclear waste repository to the Delaware Basin salt beds located in New Mexico.
Exact placement of the construction site in the Delaware Basin changed multiple times due to do safety concerns. Brine
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
deposits located throughout the Delaware Basin posed a major safety problem. The brine was first discovered when a 1975 drilling released a pressurized deposit of the liquid. Constructing the plant near one of these deposits would severely compromise the facility’s safety. The highly corrosive brine could leak into the repository and destroy the steel waste containers, thus exposing the radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
to the environment. The polluted brine could then seep into the surrounding areas and contaminate drinking wells and soil. After multiple relocations, a final site was selected. The site is located approximately 40 km east of Carlsbad.
Addressing Public Concerns via the EEG
In order to address growing public unrest concerning construction of the WIPP, the New Mexico Environmental Evaluation Group (EEG) was created in 1978. This group, charged with overseeing the WIPP, verified statements, facts, and studies conducted and released by the DOE regarding the facility. The stewardship this group provided effectively lowered public fear and let the facility progress with little public opposition in comparison to similar facilities around the nation such as Yucca Mountain in Nevada.The EEG, in addition to acting as a check for the government agencies overseeing the project, acted as a valuable advisor. In a 1981 drilling, pressurized brine was again discovered. The site was set to be abandoned when the EEG stepped in and suggested a series of tests on the brine and the surrounding area. These tests were conducted and the results showed that the brine deposit was relatively small and was isolated from other deposits. Drilling in the area was deemed safe due to these results. This saved the project valuable money and time by preventing a drastic relocation.
Early Construction and Testing Complications
In 1979 Congress authorized construction of the facility. In addition to formal authorization, Congress redefined the level of waste to be stored in the WIPP from high temperatureHigh level waste
High level waste is a type of nuclear waste created by the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. It exists in two main forms:* First and second cycle raffinate and other waste streams created by nuclear reprocessing....
to transuranic
Transuranic waste
Transuranic waste is, as stated by U.S. regulations and independent of state or origin, waste which has been contaminated with alpha emitting transuranic radionuclides possessing half-lives greater than 20 years and in concentrations greater than 100 nCi/g .Elements having atomic numbers greater...
, or low level, waste. Transuranic waste often consists of materials which have come in contact with radioactive substances such as Plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
and Uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
. This often includes gloves, tools, rags, and assorted machinery often used in the production of nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel
Nuclear fuel is a material that can be 'consumed' by fission or fusion to derive nuclear energy. Nuclear fuels are the most dense sources of energy available...
and weapons
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
. Although much less potent than nuclear reactor byproducts, this waste still remains radioactive for approximately 24,000 years. This change in classification led to a decrease in safety parameters for the proposed facility, allowing construction to continue at a faster pace.
The first extensive testing of the facility was due to begin in 1988. The proposed testing procedures involved interring samples of low level waste in the newly constructed caverns. Various structural and environmental tests would then be performed on the facility to verify its integrity and to prove its ability to safely contain nuclear waste. Opposition from various external organizations delayed actual testing into the early 1990’s. Attempts at testing were resumed in October of 1991 with US Secretary of Energy James Watkins
James D. Watkins
Admiral James David Watkins is a retired United States Navy officer and former Chief of Naval Operations who also served as U.S. Secretary of Energy during the George H. W. Bush Administration and chaired U.S. government commissions on HIV/AIDS and ocean policy. Watkins has also served on the...
announcing that he would begin transportation of waste to the WIPP.
Despite apparent progress on the facility, construction still remained costly and complicated. Originally conceptualized in the 1970’s as a warehouse for waste, the repository now had regulations similar to those of nuclear reactors. As of December of 1991, the plant had been under construction for 20 years and was estimated to have cost over one billion dollars. At the time, WIPP officials reported over 28 different organizations claiming authority over operations of the facility.
Congressional Approval
In November of 1991, a federal judge ruled that Congress must approve WIPP before any waste, even for testing purposes, was sent to the facility. This indefinitely delayed testing until Congress gave its approval. The 102nd Congress passed legislation allowing use of the WIPP. The House of RepresentativesHouse of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national states. In some countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often called a "senate". In other countries, the House of...
approved the facility on the 6th of October, 1992 and the Senate
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
passed a bill allowing the opening of the facility on October 8th of the same year. The bill was met with much opposition in the Senate. Senator Richard H. Bryan fought the bill based on safety issues that concerned a similar facility located in Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, the state for which he was serving as senator. His efforts almost prevented the bill from passing. New Mexico senators Pete V. Domenici and Jeff Bingaman
Jeff Bingaman
Jesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman, Jr. , is the senior U.S. Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party...
effectively reassured Senator Bryan that these issues would be addressed in the 103rd Congress. The final legislation provided safety standards requested by the House and an expedited timeline requested by the Senate.
The final legislation mandated that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issue revised safety standards for the facility. It also required the EPA to approve testing plans for the facility within ten months. The legislation stated that the security standards mandated in the bill were only applicable to the WIPP in New Mexico and not to other facilities in the United States. This clause caused Senator Bryan to oppose the bill, as he wanted safety standards mandated by the bill to apply to the facility in Nevada as well.
Testing and Final Certification
In 1994, Congress ordered Sandia National LaboratoriesSandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
to begin an extensive evaluation of the facility against the standards set forth by the EPA. Evaluation of the facility continued for four years, resulting in a cumulative total of 25 years of evaluation. In May of 1998, the EPA concluded that there was “reasonable expectation” that the facility would contain the vast majority of the waste interred there.
The first nuclear waste arrived to the plant on March 26, 1999. This waste shipment was from Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, a major nuclear weapons research and development facility located north of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Another shipment followed on April 6th of the same year. These shipments marked the beginning of plant operations. As of December 2010, the plant had received and stored 9,207 shipments (72,422 cubic meters) of waste. The majority of this waste was transported to the facility via rail-road or truck. The final facility contains a total of 56 storage rooms located approximately 650 meters underground. Each room is 100 yards in length. The plant is estimated to continue accepting waste for 25 to 35 years and is estimated to cost a grand total of 19 billion dollars.
Future of the WIPP
Following the interment of waste in the facility, the storage caverns will be collapsed and sealed with 13 layers of concrete and soil. Salt will then seep into and fill the various fissures and cracks surrounding the casks of waste. After approximately 75 years, the waste will be completely isolated from the environment. A major concern confronting planners of the plant is future human intrusion into the plant. It is expected that the location of the facility will be forgotten over the 10,000 year lifetime of the facility and that future generations will accidentally penetrate the facility and release radiation. In order to maintain the integrity of the facility, scientists were required to create a warning system for future generations. In 1992 the DOE assembled a 12 person panel of archaeologists, linguists, anthropologists, material scientists, astronomers, artists, and architects to design the warning system. This team discussed ideas such as physical barriers, psychological deterrents (such as large concrete spikes), and linguistic warnings. The final warning system is a combination of the many ideas discussed.
Criteria=
Waste that is to be disposed of at WIPP must meet certain "waste acceptance criteria".
It accepts transuranic waste generated from United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
activities. The waste must have radioactivity exceeding 100 nCi
Curie
The curie is a unit of radioactivity, defined asThis is roughly the activity of 1 gram of the radium isotope 226Ra, a substance studied by the pioneers of radiology, Marie and Pierre Curie, for whom the unit was named. In addition to the curie, activity can be measured using an SI derived unit,...
per gram from TRUs that produce alpha radiation with a half life greater than 20 years. This criterion includes plutonium
Plutonium
Plutonium is a transuranic radioactive chemical element with the chemical symbol Pu and atomic number 94. It is an actinide metal of silvery-gray appearance that tarnishes when exposed to air, forming a dull coating when oxidized. The element normally exhibits six allotropes and four oxidation...
, uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
, americium
Americium
Americium is a synthetic element that has the symbol Am and atomic number 95. This transuranic element of the actinide series is located in the periodic table below the lanthanide element europium, and thus by analogy was named after another continent, America.Americium was first produced in 1944...
, and neptunium
Neptunium
Neptunium is a chemical element with the symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactive metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element and belongs to the actinide series. Its most stable isotope, 237Np, is a by-product of nuclear reactors and plutonium production and it can be used as a...
among others. Mixed waste contains both radioactive and hazardous constituents, and WIPP first received mixed waste on September 9, 2000. Mixed waste is joint-regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...
(EPA) and the New Mexico Environment Department
New Mexico Environment Department
The New Mexico Environment Department is responsible for protecting the environment of the state of New Mexico and the health of its inhabitants. It was established in the Department of the Environment Act in 1991...
.
The containers may also contain a limited amount of liquids. The energy released from radioactive materials will dissociate water into hydrogen and oxygen. This could then create a potentially explosive environment inside the container. The containers must be vented, as well, to prevent this from happening.
Principle=
Waste is placed in rooms 2,150 feet (655 m) underground that have been excavated within a 3,000 foot (1000 m) thick salt formation (Salado and Castile Formations
Delaware Basin
The Delaware Basin in West Texas and southern New Mexico is famous for holding large oil fields and for exposing a fossilized reef. Guadalupe Mountains National Park and Carlsbad Caverns National Park protect part of the basin...
) where salt tectonics
Salt tectonics
500px|thumb|rightSalt tectonics is concerned with the geometries and processes associated with the presence of significant thicknesses of evaporites containing rock salt within a stratigraphic sequence of rocks...
has been stable for more than 250 million years. Because of plasticity effects
Plasticity (physics)
In physics and materials science, plasticity describes the deformation of a material undergoing non-reversible changes of shape in response to applied forces. For example, a solid piece of metal being bent or pounded into a new shape displays plasticity as permanent changes occur within the...
, salt and water will flow to any cracks that develop, a major reason why the area was chosen as a host medium for the WIPP project. Because drilling or excavation in the area will be hazardous long after the area is actively used, there are plans to construct markers to deter inadvertent human intrusion for the next ten thousand years.
The Salado Formation is a massive bedded salt deposit (>99% NaCl) that has a simple hydrogeology
Hydrogeology
Hydrogeology is the area of geology that deals with the distribution and movement of groundwater in the soil and rocks of the Earth's crust, . The term geohydrology is often used interchangeably...
. Because massive NaCl is somewhat plastic and holes close under pressure, the rock becomes non-porous by effectively closing pores and fractures. This has a significant effect on the overall hydraulic conductivities (water permeabilities) and molecular diffusion coefficients. These are on the order of ≤10−14 m/s and ≤10−15 m2/s respectively.
Message for the future=
Since 1991, the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
has been working with a team of linguists
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, scientists, science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
writers, anthropologists
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, and futurists to come up with a warning system. The markers, called "passive institutional controls", will include an outer perimeter of 32, 25 feet (7.6 m)-tall granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
pillars built in a four-mile (6 km) square. These pillars will surround an earthen wall, 33 feet (10.1 m) tall and 100 feet (30.5 m) wide. Enclosed within this wall will be another 16 granite pillars. At the center, directly above the waste site, will sit a roofless, 15 feet (4.6 m) granite room providing more information. The team intends to etch warnings and informational messages into the granite slabs and pillars. This information will be recorded in the six official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
s of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
(English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, Chinese
Standard Mandarin
Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Chinese, also known as Mandarin or Putonghua, is the official language of the People's Republic of China and Republic of China , and is one of the four official languages of Singapore....
, Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
) as well as the Native American Navajo language
Navajo language
Navajo or Navaho is an Athabaskan language spoken in the southwestern United States. It is geographically and linguistically one of the Southern Athabaskan languages .Navajo has more speakers than any other Native American language north of the...
native to the region, with additional space for translation into future languages. Pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s are also being considered, such as stick figure
Stick figure
A stick figure is a very simple type of drawing made of lines and dots, often of the human form or other animals. In a stick figure, the head is represented by a circle, sometimes embellished with details such as eyes, mouth or crudely scratched-out hair. The arms, legs and torso are all...
images and the iconic "The Scream
The Scream
Scream is the title of Expressionist paintings and prints in a series by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, showing an agonized figure against a blood red sky...
" from Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian Symbolist painter, printmaker and an important forerunner of expressionist art. His best-known composition, The Scream, is part of a series The Frieze of Life, in which Munch explored the themes of love, fear, death, melancholia, and anxiety.- Childhood :Edvard Munch...
's painting. Complete details about the plant will not be stored on site; instead, they would be distributed to archives and libraries around the world. The team plans to submit their final plan to the U.S. Government by around 2028.
See also=
- Human Interference Task Force
- Stored Waste Examination Pilot Plant
- Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository
- Project GnomeProject GNOMEProject Gnome was the first nuclear test of the Plowshare program and was the first continental nuclear weapon test since Trinity to be conducted outside of the Nevada Test Site...
- List of nuclear waste treatment technologies
External links=