Pictured from left are Nuclear Waste Partnership (NWP) Project Manager Phil Breidenbach; EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto; EM Acting Associate Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Frank Marcinowski; Carlsbad Field Office (CBFO) Facility Representative-in-Training Phil Theisen; Hannah Paterson, who is serving a five-month assignment in EM as a member of the United Kingdom nuclear graduate program; NWP Hoistman Javier Leyva; and CBFO Office of Program Management and National TRU Program Assistant Manager Casey Gadbury.
A view of the entrance to Panel 7 in the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant underground. In September 2015, zone recovery activities were completed along the pathway from a waste hoist to the entrance of Panel 7, where waste emplacement operations will begin when operations resume at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant later this year.
CARLSBAD, N.M. – EM Assistant Secretary Monica Regalbuto recently toured the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to view progress toward safely resuming waste disposal operations there later this year. Since the 2014 underground fire and radiological release events forced the temporary closure of WIPP, improvements have included mine stability and habitability, initial panel closure, radiological risk remediation, and the addition of an interim ventilation system. The site also has made significant changes to all safety management programs.