Nuclear Waste: Storage Issues at DOE's Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico.
Abstract
At a cost of $700 million, the Department of Energy (DOE) has built a mined geologic repository near Carlsbad, New Mexico-the Waste - Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) to dispose of transuranic waste produced and stored at its defense facilities in 10 states. DOE is seeking legislation that would withdraw the land from public use and permit waste storage to begin. The discovery of brine (saltwater) seeping into the repository, however, has raised questions about its suitability for nuclear waste disposal . As requested by the Chairman, Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Subcommittee, House Committee on Government Operations, GAO reviewed DOE's experiments and initial storage operations with wastes in WIPP. GAO testified on the preliminary results of its review at the Subcommittee's hearings in September 1988 and June 1989. PG3. JMD
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA291962
Entities
People
- Dwayne E. Weigel
- John W. Allen
- John W. Sprague
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office