Los Alamos National Laboratory kitty litter "bomb" led to nuclear leak at WIPP

A Department of Energy nuclear lab used the wrong kind of kitty litter in its haste to dispose of hazardous waste last year, leading to a radiation leak that sickened at least 20 workers and caused a shutdown of a federal disposal plant to the tune of $500 million. The report from the Santa Fe New Mexican characterizes the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico and its private operator, Los Alamos National Security LLC, as being so careless with the hazardous material that they inadvertently created what one chemist called a potential bomb. The LANL is a federal laboratory that works on nuclear technology and other national security projects. According to the newspaper, the LANL took shortcuts when prepping a highly acidic batch of nuclear waste for disposal at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, an underground disposal plant for nuclear waste that is also in New Mexico. The lab was working vigorously to meet a June 30, 2014 deadline for disposal of Cold War-era waste that would help Los Alamos National Security LLC secure a renewed contract with the Energy Department. In its haste, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican, the lab used a “wheat-based kitty litter rather than clay-based kitty litter” to absorb some of the material. This mistake turned the waste into a mixture that was “akin to plastic explosives,” the paper reported. The mistake was small, but costly. The Santa Fe New Mexican reported that in February 2014, once the drum containing waste had reached the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant, it cracked open. At least 20 workers at the plant were injured by low levels of the radiation and the plant was shut down...more