A little over five years ago this story was posted:
From two articles, both from the same source:
A drum full of radioactive waste exploded at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico last February, sparking serious safety concerns about the U.S.'s only longterm nuclear storage site. A yearlong government investigation has officially fingered the long-suspected culprit: kitty litter.Kitty litter? Yes, inorganic kitty litter is commonly used to pack nuclear waste. But the contractor switched to wheat-based organic kitty litter, which reacted with existing chemicals in the waste."The nitrate salt residues, organic sorbent (Swheat Scoop® ), and neutralization agent (triethanolamine) known to be present represent a potentially reactive chemical mixture of fuels and oxidizers," concludes the report's summary.The cost of the clean-up is apparently at $500 million and rising.
The report does not say exactly how the "wrong" kitty litter was acquired, but it may have been due to a simple typographical error. Second article:
Since September 2012, in fact, the LANL packed up to 5,565 barrels of radioactive waste with organic kitty litter but mislabeled it as inorganic kitty litter—16 of these barrels are also highly acidic and contain nitrate salts like the one that burst. It took an explosion before anyone noticed the mistake.In addition to being horrifying on its own, the February explosion raises serious question about the safety of nuclear waste storage, especially when you consider how "comically simplistic," to use the New Mexican's words, the explosion's origins seems to be. There are many more worrying details in the New Mexican story, including how LANL took other shortcuts in packing the drum and failed to inform WIPP. It certainly doesn't inspire confidence in our nation's handling of radioactive waste.
So, a simple typographical error. LOL.
Yesterday, from social media:
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The Sports Page
College football: Hard to believe but the US Naval Academy did not cancel their football season ... but perhaps they should have.
US Navy Midshipmen suffered their worse loss in history, losing to BYU 55 - 3. But at least they are playing, unlike the Big 10 and the Pac-12.
MLB: NY Yankees unlikely to even make the post-season.
BLM: I have no idea what's going on.
US Tennis: continues without Novak
NASCAR: completely forgot about the Labor Day weekend race. Apparently I wasn't the only one.
PGA: one word, wow!
Not Politics, Facts
Navy did not do any contact in practice we found out after the game. You can tell!
ReplyDeleteBut funny the logic of no contact in practice but okay to contact a team from a different state!
Yeah, pretty funny.
DeleteAccording to ESPN the NY Yankees have an 89.1% chance to make the postseaon. The MLB playoffs were expanded from 10 teams last year to 16 teams this year but nonetheless they are still very likely to make the postseason.
ReplyDeleteI also have some issues on POTUS's unemployment #'s but I'll keep my thoughts to myself.
Okay.
Delete