tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14072474.post6315719381316064132..comments2023-11-03T06:36:27.305-04:00Comments on Phronesisaical: Those Drums at Area Ghelmuthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09069600766378586919noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14072474.post-73947703761251263522011-07-03T08:56:37.602-04:002011-07-03T08:56:37.602-04:00I'm sorry, Stephanie, but you're wrong. My...I'm sorry, Stephanie, but you're wrong. My informant actually worked with the waste and made out the paperwork to send it to WIPP.<br /><br />Perhaps you could tell us the source of your information. There's a lot of the wrong stuff floating around.Cheryl Roferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082102629165547210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14072474.post-39948919826902843612011-07-02T20:09:54.573-04:002011-07-02T20:09:54.573-04:00Most of the material at Area G is transuranic wast...Most of the material at Area G is transuranic waste, meaning it contains contaminants heavier than uranium, including plutonium. It is NOT low-level radioactive waste. If it were, in the U.S. it could be buried in shallow trenches; LANL has buried low-level radioactive waste in unlined pits, trenches and shafts in the volcanic tuff for decades. Transuranic waste, on the other hand, requires disposal in a deep geologic repository, such as the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), near Carlsbad, New Mexico. WIPP disposes of waste from defense-related activities only. The costs of burying transuranic waste in this manner is costing billions of dollars.<br />LANL is loaded with all kinds of radioactive waste! We are fortunate that the fire hasn't reached it, but the threat has revealed that there is cause for concern about waste management at the Lab.Stephanie Hillerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12971546704500717897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14072474.post-55482961382862613732011-07-02T14:22:29.570-04:002011-07-02T14:22:29.570-04:00WIPP has been open for more than a decade. If the ...WIPP has been open for more than a decade. If the waste hasn't shipped by now, that is DOE's fault, not any of the "scaremongers" you describe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14072474.post-82941377315165885572011-07-02T12:12:31.341-04:002011-07-02T12:12:31.341-04:00Thanks, anonymous! Very helpful!Thanks, anonymous! Very helpful!Cheryl Roferhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082102629165547210noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14072474.post-29382932799592468792011-07-02T12:08:09.764-04:002011-07-02T12:08:09.764-04:00Hi Cheryl,
The domes are treated with a fire-retar...Hi Cheryl,<br />The domes are treated with a fire-retardant. The foam that is discussed would be an additional measure beyond the fire protection that exists in the domes, which is automatic fire sprinklers. There are also IR and PE smoke detectors. The foam would almost certainly be applied by hooking up to a LAFD truck and letting loose with the water+foam mix. The #1 protection out there is having nothing to burn, so you wouldn't get to the extreme temperatures needed to phase the drums. <br />-lab engineerAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com