From Kitty Litter To Chicken Little -- The Sky Is Falling, The Sky Is Falling -- March 16, 2015

Ah, such faithful (and observant) readers. I love 'em all.

The other day I saw an article on some "waste socks" found in Williston; I can't remember which regional newspaper posted the story, but I can imagine. It appears the socks a) had been laying there for at least a year; b) they posed no threat to anyone; and, c) they were quickly and appropriately disposed.

A reader must have seen that same article. She provides this update of a radioactive waste story elsewhere:

A while ago I'd sent articles about the kitty litter fiasco:

.....some misguided employee had managed to buy organic kitty litter instead of inorganic kitty litter, and so an undetermined number of barrels with the wrong mix added to nuclear waste had been transported from Los Alamos to Carlsbad - before it was revealed that some barrels had corroded/burst/leaked.

WIPP is closed for an estimated 5 years to allow for the cleanup. Where is Los Alamos going to send their nuclear brew in the meantime? hmmm..... So, now we have "the sky is falling" update. 

In mid-January, a block of salt ceiling – an 8-foot-by-8-foot square, 2 feet thick – came crashing down at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant nuclear waste repository.

No one was injured, and no waste containers were damaged.

But the roof collapse offered a reminder of the dangers lurking underground at the plant, where hundreds of drums of radioactive waste, packed with a volatile mix of materials that caused one drum to breach last year, are stored in panels that have yet to be permanently sealed – despite a state order to do so.

WIPP’s managers say they’re making progress but admit the going is slow due to the radiological contamination. The New Mexico Environment Department says WIPP is moving as quickly as it can while ensuring the safety of workers.

The reader concludes: Sure does make it seem safer to rely on oil and gas from North Dakota's Bakken (;>).

I was not even aware there was such a thing as organic kitty litter. I guess that is the sand from the neighbor's sandbox.