The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant uses a continuous miner to carve disposal rooms out of the Permian Salt Formation, nearly a half mile below the surface. |
Overview
The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, or WIPP, safely disposes of the nation's defense-related transuranic radioactive waste. Located in the Chihuahuan Desert, outside Carlsbad, N.M., WIPP began disposal operations in March 1999. WIPP is a U.S. Department of Energy facility and is managed by Washington TRU Solutions. |
The U.S. Department of Energy Carlsbad Field Office and its contractors team up to carry out the WIPP mission. For links to some of the major project participants, click here. |
WIPP operations
resume following outage
WIPP is back in disposal mode following a six-week maintenance outage. The facility resumed disposal operations the week of January 4 with all essential projects completed. The annual outage is used to complete major maintenance and upgrade projects that cannot be done while WIPP is receiving shipments and disposing of waste underground.
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Visitors to Carlsbad, N.M. are encouraged to visit the WIPP Experience Exhibit. While public tours of WIPP are not available, the exhibit at our in-town office building features a brief documentary on the project and numerous displays. Friendly staff are available to answer questions about this one-of-a-kind facility. Free 250-million-year-old rock salt samples are available for all visitors! Groups larger than four people are asked to call in advance for special showings in the auditorium. The WIPP Experience Exhibit |
Magnum Minerals The U.S. Department of Energy's Carlsbad Field Office has worked out an agreement to sell 300,000 tons of run-of-mine salt from WIPP to Magnum Minerals LLC. Read the full news release.
Studies confirm Want to learn more? ----- Environmental Protection Agency fact sheet on karst EPA 2006 fact sheet WIPP featured in Click here to visit the Nova Science Now Web site and watch the segment titled "Secrets in the Salt" that was filmed at WIPP. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Information Click here for information on how DOE’s Office of Environmental Management is implementing
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Final permit renewal application available online The final WIPP Hazardous Waste Facility Permit Renewal Application is now available online. Click here to read the application online |
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