Western Governors Applaud 10 Years of Safe, Uneventful Shipments to WIPP (3/26/09)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2009

Contact:
Alex Schroeder
303-623-9378

Western Governors Applaud 10 Years of Safe, Uneventful Shipments to WIPP

DENVER - The Western Governors' Association today applauded the joint effort of states and the U.S. Department of Energy on the tenth anniversary of the first shipment of radioactive transuranic (TRU) waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad, N.M.

Over the last 10 years, DOE has safely traveled more than 8.5 million miles and completed more than 7,200 TRU waste shipments to WIPP for permanent geologic disposal. These shipments are part of the largest environmental cleanup effort in the world and have already led to the completion of cleanup activities at 14 sites in the nation's nuclear weapons complex. Notably, the Rocky Flats production site outside of Denver was remediated and restored to a wildlife preserve in 2006.

Leading this initiative for the WGA are Govs. Bill Richardson (N.M.) and Butch Otter (Idaho).

By all accounts, the transportation safety program cooperatively developed by the Western states and DOE has been successful, Richardson said. This effort shows that strong oversight by states is a key part of WIPP's success.

In 1989, the WGA established a Transportation Safety Technical Advisory Group to work with DOE to develop a safety program to help ensure the safe and uneventful transportation of TRU waste. The resulting program has been fully implemented by the Western states, and DOE and has produced a safety record that far exceeds commercial trucking averages. While there have been minor accidents and incidents over the past decade, none have resulted in the release of radioactive materials.

The WIPP program has an excellent safety record, Otter said. There's still a lot of cleanup to be done at sites around the West, and the states and DOE need to remain vigilant so that shipments of transuranic waste will continue to arrive safely and uneventfully at WIPP.

For more information about the WGA WIPP Transportation Safety Program, please visit: WGA WIPP Transportation Safety Program

The Western Governors' Association is an independent, nonprofit organization representing the governors of 19 states and three U.S.-Flag islands in the Pacific. Through their Association, the Western governors identify and address key policy and governance issues in natural resources, the environment, human services, economic development, international relations and public management.

# # # # #