Transuranic waste: What to know
- Transuranic (TRU) waste consists of materials contaminated with radioactive elements, mostly plutonium. It includes items such as protective shoe covers and clothing, rags and tools.
- The radioactive elements contaminating the items have atomic numbers greater than uranium on the periodic table of elements (thus the name "trans-uranic," or beyond uranium).
- At Los Alamos, approximately 2,600 steel containers of TRU waste are stored above ground in seven fire-resistant storage domes at Technical Area 54. They are managed by the DOE’s Office of Environmental Management. Technical Area 54 is approximately 6 miles from the Lab’s southwestern boundary at the intersection of N.M. State Road 4 and West Jemez Road.
- Another approximately 1,000 TRU steel containers are stored at Technical Area 55 and are managed by Triad, the management and operations contractor of Los Alamos National Laboratory. Technical Area 55 is approximately 4 miles from the Lab’s southwestern boundary at the intersection of N.M. State Road 4 and West Jemez Road.
- There is also TRU waste stored at the Transuranic Liquid Waste Facility at Technical Area 50. All containers are rigorously tested, including being dropped from 30 feet, impaled on spikes, submerged in water for several hours and put in fire to test their robustness and ensure they will not leak.
- All containers are stored securely in authorized facilities and protected against wildfire to ensure the safe operations of the facility and the safety of workers and the public.
- The majority of the Lab’s waste storage facilities are not in close proximity to forested land, thanks largely to mitigation efforts around all facilities that store or treat waste to expand defensible space. After the Las Conchas Fire in 2011, the Laboratory made a concerted effort to put more acreage under asphalt to reduce the area vulnerable to fire encroachment.
A look at tritium-related waste
- Tritium is a radioactive form of hydrogen gas and an important component of nuclear weapons. At Los Alamos, all tritium-related waste is stored in a safe configuration in the Weapons Engineering Tritium Facility, also called "WETF," in the Laboratory’s Technical Area 16.
- WETF is a highly secure and fire-resistant facility. Wildfire mitigation activities around the facility have included establishing a defensible perimeter by ground clearing potential wildfire fuel (e.g., brush and vegetation).
- In addition, four Flanged Tritium Waste Containers are stored at Area G within Technical Area 54 (see more about TA-54 in the TRU waste section above), and protected against a wildfire hazard while they await eventual shipment off-site for disposal.
Other types of hazardous waste
- Mixed and low-level waste are also protected against wildfire per the Laboratory’s permitted storage requirements.
- Nonradioactive waste that is regulated by the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act is considered low risk from wildfire. RCRA waste is stored in safe facilities around the Laboratory.
