[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16586]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                     DISPOSAL OF RADIOACTIVE WASTE

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise to share some news with my Senate 
colleagues. And even though my subject involves radioactive waste, I'm 
most pleased to report that this is all good news.
  As a Nation, we haven't made great progress on disposal of 
radioactive wastes, Yucca Mountain was supposed to open in 1998--now it 
might open in 2010 if it progresses at the most optimistic rate.
  But in New Mexico, the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in the city of 
Carlsbad opened for disposal operations in March of 1999. WIPP is the 
nation's first repository for the permanent disposal of defense-
generated radioactive waste left from the research and production of 
nuclear weapons.
  WIPP represents the single most dramatic advance this Nation has made 
in disposal of radioactive waste. In fact, WIPP is a showcase facility 
for the entire world for demonstrating that mankind can safely remove 
complex wastes from any impact on our environment.
  WIPP accepts a particular kind of waste, transuranic or TRU waste, 
that is contaminated with certain elements, especially plutonium. This 
type of waste must be handled with great care to ensure safety of the 
public and workers. WIPP represents a cornerstone of DOE's national 
cleanup effort dealing with the nation's nuclear weapons complex. 
Today, I want to announce that WIPP has filled their first underground 
room to full capacity.
  This is no small achievement. That room now holds over 10,000 drums 
of TRU waste. The waste arrived in 352 shipments from five DOE sites--
Los Alamos, Rocky Flats, Idaho, Hanford, and Savannah River. That 
required lots of transportation, in fact about one-third of a million 
miles. And even with so many miles, equivalent to 13 trips around the 
earth, there were no accidents or even serious incidents. For those who 
doubt that radioactive cargoes can be shipped safely, WIPP is proof 
that a well-engineered transportation system can be operated to the 
highest standards.
  The team at WIPP isn't stopping to celebrate this milestone. As I 
speak, they're busily accepting more waste. Earlierr this week, the 
shipment number was up to 373 and more then 11,000 drums had moved into 
the facility.
  In closing, I personally commend the Department of Energy, especially 
the Carlsbad Field Office, for their careful attention to safe 
operations. The community of Carlsbad deserves tremendous praise for 
their consistent support of WIPP and its critical national mission. And 
both the Environmental Protection Agency and the New Mexico Environment 
Department deserve compliments for their roles in oversight of this 
facility.

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