The document discusses recovery efforts at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) following incidents in 2014 that halted operations. Key points include: - Ground control challenges from lack of maintenance during the shutdown and restrictions with protective equipment. Efforts are ongoing to catch up. - Waste emplacement in Panel 7 resumed in 2017 with shipments restarting and ramping up to support filling available space for the next 3-4 years. - Mining of new Panel 8 is planned to begin in 2017 to provide additional disposal capacity, requiring removal of left equipment. - Recovery includes safety upgrades, restoring infrastructure, initial closures, and planning future mining and closures through 2024.

1. WIPP Recovery and Operational Safety
Sean Dunagan
Sandia National Laboratories
Middelburg, The Netherlands
September 5-7, 2017
Sandia National Laboratories is a multi-mission laboratory managed and operated by National
Technology and Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell
International Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under
contract DE-NA0003525. This research is funded by WIPP programs administered by the Office of
Environmental Management (EM) of the U.S. Department of Energy. SAND2017-8889C.

2. Outline
 Recovery
 Ground Control
Challenges
 Waste Emplacement
 Resumption of
Shipments
 Mining
 Future Planning
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3. WIPP Incidents
February 5, 2014 Truck Fire:
• All operations at the repository ceased following salt haul truck fire in the
WIPP underground.
• An investigation team was deployed to determine the cause of the fire.
February 14, 2014 Radiological Incident:
• A continuous air monitor detected airborne radiation in the underground.
• WIPP’s ventilation system automatically switched to high-efficiency
particulate air (HEPA) filtration mode when airborne radiation was
detected
• Underground and the WIPP mine remains in filtration mode at this time.
• Extensive sampling and monitoring conducted by DOE, New Mexico, and
Carlsbad Environmental Monitoring Research Center
• Efforts by the DOE and Nuclear Waste Partnership are ensuring workers
are fully protected during recovery and restart.
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4. WIPP Incidents
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5. Key Steps Toward Recovery
 Documented Safety Analysis
Revisions
 Safety Management Program
Revitalization
 Underground Restoration
- Re-Establish Degraded Equipment
- Fire Protection
- Maintenance and Ground Control
- Radiological Roll-back
- Soot cleaning of electrical panels
 Expedite mine stability
 Initial Panel 6 and Panel 7, Room 7
Closure
 Interim Ventilation 5

6. Ground Control Challenges
Limitations:
 9 – months with no
ground control
following incidents
 Low ventilation rates
limited bolting
operations
 Need for workers to
operate in personal
protective clothing and
respirators
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7. Ground Control Challenges
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8. Ground Control Challenges
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9. Ground Control Challenges
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10. Ground Control Challenges
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11. Ground Control Status
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GROUND CONTROL CATCH-UP
GROUND CONTROL CATCH-UP RESTRICTED ACCESS
GROUND CONTROL UNRESTRICTED ACCESS
GROUND CONTROL PROHIBITED ACCESS

12. Reopening
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WIPP Officially Reopened with a ribbon cutting
ceremony held on January 9, 2017

13. Waste Emplacement Resumes
 Waste emplacement operations resumed in Panel 7 – transition point
between clean and contaminated area is necessary
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14. Panel 7 Status
 Bulkhead were placed at both ends of Room 7
to isolate waste following events – remains
closed
 Rock fall occurred in Room 4 on November 3,
2016 – fall was predicted and room was
already prohibited
 Room 6 is prohibited due to ground control –
also contains abandoned equipment
 Rooms 1, 2, 3 and 5 are safe and usable for
waste emplacement
 Waste emplacement has started in S2520
moving west to east
 Currently available disposal capacity in Panel 7
should last approximately 3-4 years, depending
on shipping rates
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Room 1
Room 4
Room 6
Room 5
Room 3
Room 2

15. Shipments Resumed
 First shipment since incidents was received from Idaho on April
8
 Shipment rate started at 2/week, with goal of ramping up to
4/week by the end of 2017
 WIPP anticipates receipt of approximately 128 shipments
between April of 2017 and the end of January 2018
 Currently receiving shipments from Idaho, Savanah River, Waste
Control Specialist, and Oak Ridge.
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16. Projected Shipping
Key considerations in the development of the shipping
estimate and points of origin included:
 WIPP waste emplacement rate;
 Available waste to ship;
 Regulatory commitments and agreements;
 WIPP transportation/waste acceptance capabilities;
 Flexibility for changing technical and policy constraints.
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Site Projected Shipments
Idaho 61
Los Alamos 24
Oak Ridge 24
Savannah River 8
Waste Control Specialists 11
TOTAL 128

17. Mining Panel 8
Mining of Panel 8:
 Planned to begin in October 2017
 No contamination present
 Required to bolt our way into the
panel to remove equipment that has
remained there since events
 Mining operations are expected to
take approximately 3 years
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18. WIPP Mining and Emplacement
Model
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19. Far South End Closure Progress
 Initiated preparations for the withdrawal from the far south end
(Panel 9)
 Cribbing, ventilation curtains and geo-mechanical instrumentation
installed in the south mains by June 2017
 Regulatory approvals for final closures - 2+ years with
implementation to follow
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20. New Shaft and Ventilation
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21. Questions
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22. WIPP Underground Map
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