WIPP, Drum Mining Machine in Waste Shaft, 2014
Marietta 3612 drum mining machine. The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant is a DOE research and development facility for demonstrating the safe disposal of transuranic radioactive wastes. Test shafts have been drilled to a depth of 2,100 feet. The shafts, one 6 feet in diameter and the other 12 feet in diameter, provide an entry passage and ventilation to the underground salt rock formation that is being tested to determine its suitability for radioactive waste storage. WIPP is the world's third deep geological repository licensed to permanently dispose of transuranic radioactive waste for 10,000 years that is left from the research and production of nuclear weapons. It is located approximately 26 miles east of Carlsbad, New Mexico. Various mishaps at the plant in 2014 brought focus to the problem of what to do with this growing backlog of waste and whether or not WIPP would be a safe repository.
Size: 4200px × 3360px
Photo credit: © Photo Researchers / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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