| February 1, 2010 | |
WIPP Quick Facts 8,188 65,198 127,413
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Sale of WIPP salt to benefit southeast New Mexico
The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) has worked out an agreement to sell 300,000 tons of run-of-mine salt from the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to Magnum Minerals LLC of Hereford, Texas. The Carlsbad Soil and Water Conservation District will administer the contract with Magnum, which will allow the proceeds to remain in southeast New Mexico. In 2008, Washington TRU Solutions (WTS) issued a request for interest in the salt tailings. Magnum Minerals responded with a business plan to purchase the salt and convert it to a feed supplement. Revenues generated by the sale will go toward area public works projects. The sale also will benefit WIPP’s Environmental Management System because the salt tailings would have been placed in a landfill in the future, will now be reused. The cost of the disposal of the salt will also be done away with, which will mutually benefit private business and taxpayers. Magnum Minerals will begin hauling salt from WIPP this year and it is expected to continue for the next five years.
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Scientists hope that the Enriched Xenon Observatory (EXO) at WIPP will explain things about the universe that Galileo Galilei may never have imagined. EXO is a particle physics experiment that aims to measure the mass of a subatomic particle called a neutrino. The observatory, located underground at WIPP, takes advantage of the low background radiation environment. The 2,150-foot repository, mined out of an ancient salt bed, shields the observatory from cosmic and naturally occurring background radiation. The final component of the EXO observatory, called the Time Projection Chamber (TPC), arrived at WIPP inside of a solid concrete transport container to protect it from naturally occurring radiation on its journey from California to New Mexico. Exposure to the sensitive TPC could compromise EXO results. . So what exactly is the TPC? According to Jesse Wodin, a research associate from SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, the TPC is one of the most sensitive radiation detection devices ever built. The chamber was fabricated at Stanford University over the last two years and is designed to detect an extremely rare radiation process known as neutrino-less double beta decay. Wodin explained that the TPC is filled with liquid xenon-136 and outfitted with wires and sensitive light detectors that can indicate whether the rare radioactive decay process is occurring. “Observing this rare decay teaches us about the elusive subatomic particle called a neutrino,” Wodin said. “This in turn will teach us about stars, galaxies, supernovae (exploding stars) and perhaps why the universe is made of matter instead of anti-matter.” June 2010 is the projected start date for the experiment to begin.
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For 10 years, WIPP has used a customized database system called the WIPP Waste Information System (WWIS) to track data related to WIPP-bound waste. WWIS provided regulatory assurance that containers, payloads and shipments of TRU waste met acceptance criteria from the time the waste was characterized at a generator site until disposal at WIPP. The WWIS team recently unveiled a new Web-based program called the Waste Data System (WDS) that builds on WWIS success and offers more user-friendly features. Like the WWIS, the WDS provides an integrated platform for WIPP waste characterization, certification, shipping, receiving, handling and disposal processes. The WDS offers access to new tools and queries and gives users nationwide access to data and functions that match their specific role. Dave Kump, manager of the team, says he is excited about this program, because it allows easier access in less time for those who use it. “This program gives users the ability to perform all their work from a single customized Web page rather than jumping around from one form or report to another, which will increase efficiency and reduce errors,” he said. The WDS team has been developing this program over the past 18 months. It was launched in December after final testing and quality checks.
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Bow-WOW. . . Leigh and Cognac
This year’s Westminster Dog Show in Madison Square Garden will include a hometown favorite. Christi Leigh of Sandia National Laboratories-Carlsbad Programs Group hopes that Cognac, her five year old Briard, will also be the judges’ favorite. Leigh’s dog, ranked fifth in the nation in his breed, was invited by the Westminster Kennel Club to compete in the 2010 show which airs February 15-16 at 6:00 p.m. MST on the USA Network, local cable channel 40.
Leigh will drive to Dallas and fly directly from Dallas to La Guardia with Cognac. Leigh jokes, “It was the only way to find a plane big enough to carry him.” Briards are a French breed used for herding and guarding.
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The U.S. Department of Energy
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Please send comments and/or |
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