WIPP ventilation project passes milestone

A major project to build a new ventilation system at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP).

USA has passed a milestone with the completion of the foundations for one of the two major buildings for the Safety Significant Confinement Ventilation System (SSCVS). The 55,000 sq. ft. (5100 sq. mtr.) New Filter Building (NFB) will house the high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter units that will clean air extracted from the WIPP underground.

The foundation concrete pour for the NFB was completed six weeks early, and work has already begun on building the walls, the US Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Environmental Management said. The 44 individual concrete sections were poured by The Industrial Company, a subcontractor to WIPP management and operations contractor Nuclear Waste Partnership.

When complete, the SSCVS will be the largest containment ventilation system at any DOE facility. It will be able to run continuously either in unfiltered or HEPA filtration mode, and will supply some 540,000 cubic feet per minute of air underground, more than triple the maximum supplied by the current ventilation system. A new 2275-foot utility shaft is also under construction, which will provide additional airflow underground in conjunction with the SSCVS.

“Successful completion of this project will be a critical step in improving air quality in the underground, preparing for WIPP’s future,” said Janelle Armijo, federal project director at the DOE’s Carlsbad Field Office. The increased airflow will mean that waste emplacement activities can be carried out at the same time as mining and maintenance operations.

For more info, visit: https://wipp.energy.gov/