Belmont Stakes: No Triple Crown for California Chrome Sports D-1
Mine closure hits Questa hard
Shutdown of molybdenumdepositleaves
future uncertain for 300 workers and Taos County. LOCAL NEWS, C-1
Hail, rain batters Santa Fe
Storm system pounds New Mexico, spurs tornado watch for Santa Fe County. LOCAL NEWS, C-3
Experts urge ta x overhaul
Consultantscall for state Legislature to study replacing gross receipts tax. LOCAL NEWS, C-1
Tracing breached container’s path from Los Alamos to Southern N.M. dump reveals complexities of overseeing, handling transferof waste from nation’s nuclear programs
By StaciMatlock
O8. Loading
The drumsin each payload are loadedinto TRUPACT containers at theTRU loading facility. The loadis inspected,theTRUPACT is sealedandtheshipment istransported to WIPP LANS, CAST
7. Certification
WIPPpersonnel compile all availabledata and certifythat the containers meet thecriteria for disposal at WIPP NWP-CCP, ES, LANS
6. Staging
Because there are strict requirements for transporting drums to WIPP drums are staged inpreparation for shipment. LANS,ES
5. Radioassay
Eachdrumundergoesa two-step process in a highefficiency neutron counter. Thisprocess determines theidentity of radioactive materialsandhow much of each constituent it contains NWP-CCP, ES,LANS
n thenight of Feb.14,a mix of chemicalsinside a container of radioactive waste inanunderground saltcavernin Southern New Mexico created somuch heat thedrum’s lidcracked.Radiationleakedout. Heavy bagsof magnesium oxidestackedon top of the containers to preventleaksshifted anddisintegratedfromthe force of the reaction.
A smallamount of radiationmadeits way through filters andanair vent to the groundabove the excavated saltbed.Analarmsounded at 11:14 p.m.that night,andthehandful of employees at the Waste Isolation PilotPlantnear Carlsbad were quickly evacuatedand tested for radiation exposure.Officials said 21 testedpositive, but none at dangerouslevels. Withinhours,thenation’s only permanent repository for nuclear waste— theone officials said wouldnever have a radiationleak whenthe site opened 15 years ago— was shut down for what couldbeseveral years. The containerinquestion, a 55-gallondrum
Pasapick
El Rancho de las Golondrinas: Spring Festival and Children’s Fair
Demonstrations by weaversandblacksmiths, children’s activities,music,anddancing,10 a.m.-4 p.m.,334 Los Pinos Road,$8atthe entrance, discounts available, 471-2261.
corrosive orignitablematrials orliquids If a drum containsnoprohibiteditems it moveto step 5. LANS,ES
3. Remediation
If a drum contains a prohibiteditem,itgoes to remediation,where any liquidsare absorbed,theitemis removed andthe contents repackaged. LANS,ES
4. Real-time radiography
Drumsare X-rayed to ensure noprohibiteditemsare present as part of the certification for WIPP NWP-CCP ES,LANS
labeledLA00000068660, beganitslife inthebirthplace of the atomicbomb From a facility at Los Alamos NationalLaboratory’s AreaG, where the waste was repacked, to a roominthe saltcavern near Carlsbad, where thedrum was stackedand waiting to burst, a wholeslew of people were responsible for how it was handled.
Tracingthe container’s pathfromLosAlamos to WIPP revealsthe complexities of overseeingand safely handlingthetransfer of radioactive waste fromthenation’s nuclearprograms.
LANLandother facilitieshave reliedonthecavernous saltbeds at WIPPas a permanentsolution for dealingwiththe waste fromdecades of nuclear arms researchandproduction. The process of packagingandshippingthe waste involves more than a dozen state and federalagenciesandprivatecontractors— creatinglayer uponlayer of regulatory andsupervisorycheckpoints.
The Feb.14 leakhas raisedquestionsabout these safeguards,both at thestate and federallevels. Amongthediscoveriessince theleak, for example,
JOURNEY, Page A-4
Obituaries
Nancy Calhoun Cain, 73,May 29
SoniaSeabrookGans,June4
Francisco Medina, 49,June3
LauraElizabeth Emanuel,May26
JanetE.Morgan,June5
Nancy Carna Stuart,51, Santa Fe,May21
Jerry F. Urban,68,June3 PAGE C-2
Today
Partlysunny, eveningstorm possible. High81, low51. PAGED-6
The
contractors
LANS: Los AlamosNational Security is a group of companies contracted by theDepartment of Energy to manageand operate Los Alamos National Laboratory LANS consists of Bechtel National, Babcock & Wilcox,theUniversity of California, andURSEnergyandConstructionCorporation. ES:EnergySolutions ison contractwithDOEandLANS to managethepreparation of waste at thelab for shipment to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant. NWP-CCP:Nuclear Waste Partnership-CentralCharacterization Project is contracted by DOE to ensure LANL waste meets the requirements to be stored at WIPP Nuclear Waste Partnershipalso is contracted to manageWIPP CAST isone of two companies contracted to loadtransuranic mixed radioactive waste from thelaband take it to WIPP
Stabbing has link s to Web my th Wisconsin attackthat left 12-year-oldwith 19 stab woundscalled a “wake-upcall to parents”oninfluence of Interneton children. PAGE A-6
The pair of education advocates hada bigidea, a new approach to transform everypublic-schoolclassroominAmerica.Byearly 2008,many of thenation’s top politiciansandeducationleaders had linedupin support.
But that wasn’tenough. The duoneededmoney— tens of millions of dollars, at least andthey needed a champion who could overcomethepoliticsthat had thwarted everyprevious attempt to institute national standards.
Sothey turned to therichestmaninthe world. On a summerday in 2008,Gene Wilhoit,director of a national group of state schoolchiefs,andDavid Coleman,anemerging evangelist for thestandards movement,spenthours inBillGates’sleekheadquarters nearSeattle, trying to persuadehimandhiswife, Melinda, to turntheirideainto reality.
Colemanand Wilhoit toldtheGatesesthat academicstandards variedsowildly betweenstates that highschooldiplomashad lostallmeaning,that asmany as40percent of college freshmenneeded remedialclassesandthat U.S.students werefalling behindtheir foreign competitors.
The pairalsoarguedthata fragmentededucation system stifledinnovationbecause textbookpublishers andsoftware developers were catering to a large number of smallmarketsinstead of exploringbreakthroughproducts. That seemed to resonate withthe man who ledthecreation of the world’s dominant computer operating system.
Coming home
to controversy
As POW Bergdahl prepares to return to U.S., questions remain
ByMarthaMendoza TheAssociated Press
Bowe Bergdahlstands,hands at hissides,hisloosefitting Pashtunsmockand pantsbright white against the rocky landscape. The hillsidesare dotted with armedAfghans,rifles ready.
A BlackHawk appears intheclouds.After almost five years incaptivity, theAmericansoldier, head shaved, eyes blinking,isabout to finally seefreedom. “We’ve beenlooking for you fora longtime,” a member of a special forces teamshouts over the roar of the copter Bergdahlbreaksdown.
It was supposed to be a moment for celebration, America’s only militarycaptive inthe 13-yearAfghan conflictfree at last.Andinhishometown in Idaho, where treesare bedeckedwith yellow ribbonsand prayers never stopped,indeeditis.
But for the rest of the country, Bergdahl’s capture and releasehave thrusthimintoa furiousdebate
TheNewMexican
Pleasesee
By LyndseyLayton The Washington Post
Pleasesee POW, Page A-6
Pleasesee GATES, Page A-5
Actor David ‘Blazing’career SundaySpotl
from lanltoleak
Missteps andsecrets
DocumentsshowLANLofficials
Aclose-upphoto of anunsealed waste containerfromLANL wastakenMay22at the WasteIsolation PilotPlantin Carlsbad. Thecontainer wouldnothavemet federaltransportation standards to geton the roadfrom LosAlamos to Carlsbad,nor wouldithave been accepted at WIPP,if thelabhad reported itstrueingredients. Co urTesy u.s. DepArTmeNT ofeNer gy
downplayed dangersand withheld critical informationafter oneofthe lab’sdrums caused leak at WIPP
By PatrickMalone th enew
Inthesummerof2012, Gov. SusanaMartinez visited thehilltopfacilities of Los Alamos National Laboratory tocommemorateamilestone. The lab,underanagreementwiththe state, hadjustshippedits1,000th truckloadofColdWar-eranuclear wastefromthe grounds of LosAlamos to asaltcaverndeepunder the Southern NewMexicodesert.
Theachievementmeantthelab was wellonits waytomeeting aJune30, 2014,deadlineimposed by Martinez to remove radioactive gloves,machinery andotherequipmentleftoverfrom decades of nuclearweapons research.
ForLos Alamos NationalSecurity LLC, theprivate consortiumthat operatesthelab,the stakes were high. Meetingthedeadline would helpitsecure an extensionofits
$2.2 billionannual contractfromthe U.S.Department of Energy.
Butthe following summer,workers packagingthewastecameacrossa batchthatwas extraordinarily acidic, makingitunsafefor shipping. The lab’s guidelinescalled forworkto shutdownwhilethebatchunderwent arigidset of reviews to determinehow to treatit, atime-consuming processthatjeopardizedthelab’s goal of meetingthedeadline. Instead,the labandits variouscontractors tookshortcuts in treating the acidicnuclear waste, addingneutralizerandawheat-basedorganickitty littertoabsorb excess liquid. The combinationturnedthe wasteintoa potentialbomb that onelabchemist latercharacterized asakin to plastic explosives,according to asix-month investigationby The NewMexican.
Thelab thenshipped a55-gallon drum of the volatilematerial330 miles to the WasteIsolation PilotPlant, the nation’s onlyunderground repository fornuclear waste, southeast of Carlsbad.Documents accompanying thedrum, whichweresupposed to include adetaileddescription of its contents, were deeplyflawed. They madenomention of theacidity orthe neutralizer,andtheymischaracterizedthekitty litteras aclay-based material —not themorecombustible organic varietythatmostchemists wouldhave recognizedashazardous if mixedwith wasteladenwithnitrate salts,according to interviews anda reviewofthousands of pagesofdocuments andinternalemailsobtained through aFreedom of Information Actrequest.
On Feb.14,withthecampaignto clearthe wastefromLosAlamos morethan90percent complete, the drum’s lidcrackedopen.Radiation leakedinto theair.Temperaturesin theundergroundchamber soared to 1,600degrees,threateningdozens of nearbydrums. At least 20 workers were contaminatedwithwhatfederal officialshave describedaslowlevels of radiation —though oneworker has filed alawsuit sayinghis health has drastically deteriorateddue to radiation exposure.
Thefacility, meanwhile,remains shutdownasanestimated$500million recoveryeffort expected to last severalyearsgetsunderway,leaving thousands of containers of nuclear wastedestinedforWIPPstranded at nationallaboratoriesacrossthe country. Documentsandinternalemails
Anexplosiv mixture
Thelabandits contractorstook shortcutsintreating acidic nuclear waste, adding neutralizeranda wheat-basedkitty littertoabsorb excess liquid. The volatile result was latercharacterized by onelabchemist asakin to plastic explosives,according to asix-month investigation by TheNew Mexican
Hispanicsflock to Pentecostal congregations
Longtime Catholicsincreasingly leavetofinda ‘spiritual awakening’
ByUriel J. Garcia th enew Mexican
SantaReyes,44,leftMexicoeight yearsagofora betterlifeinSantaFe.
Thingsdidn’tgosowellatfirst. Herhusband startedcominghomelateanddrunk. Her24-year-old sonbecame addictedtococaine.Andher 18-year-old daughter gotsick. Reyescouldn’tfindeconomic,emotional or spiritual supportanywhere.
Four yearsago,asshe wasdesperatelysearching for herson —who oftendidnot comehome fordaysat atime —she walkedinto alocal Pentecostalchurch. Membersofthe congregationinvitedhertostay fortheservice, andtheyprayedfor her.Pentecostal churchesare fundamentalistgroupsthatemphasizea directpersonal experience withGodthroughthe Holy Spirit. “I feltsuch apeacethatI’venever feltbefore,” Reyessaid.“Istarted to cry alot.”
LikemanyLatinAmericans,Reyes wasraised Catholic.Andlikemanythousands,shelefttheChurchin search of spiritualawakening in aconservativeProtestant
Pleasesee FloCK,PageA-5
ByJeffrey Gettleman
VIRUNGA NATIONAL PARK,Democratic Republic of Congo—Thetroublestarted when aBritishcompany suddenlyappearedinthisiconicandspectacularly beautifulnationalpark, prospecting foroil. Villagerswhoopposedtheproject were beatenup by governmentsoldiers. Aparkwarden, whotried to blocktheoil company, SOCO International,frombuilding acellphone towerinthe park,waskidnappedand tortured. Virunga’sdirectornearly killedhoursafterhe deliveredasecretreportontheoil company’sactivities. Muchlikethe fight overdrillingon federallandsin the U.S.,thestruggle overoilexplorationinAfrica’s national parksisaclassic quandary,pittingeconomic
show thatevenafterthe radiationleak, labofficialsdownplayedthedangers of the waste— even to the Carlsbad managerswhosestaff memberswere endangered by itspresence— and withheld critical informationfrom regulators andWIPP officialsinvestigating theleak.Internalemails,harshly worded at times, convey atoneof exasperationwithLANL from WIPP personnel,primarilyemployees of the
Department of Energy andNuclear WastePartnership,the contractorthat operatesthe repository. Takentogether,thedocumentsprovide awindow intoa culture of oversight at thelab that,inthe raceto clean upthewaste, hadsobrokendownthat smallmisstepssometimesled to systemic problems.
on our website
View more documents and emailsfrom LANL athttp:// www.santafe newmexican. com/special_
Mexican