抄録
This study provides insights into the root cause of the 2014 accident that lead to the three-year shutdown of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad New Mexico USA. WIPP serves as the only repository in the United States for the disposal of transuranic waste. The accident involved the combination of nitric acid and organic kitty litter within a transuranic waste drum. Our findings suggest that the root cause of the accident was thermal runaway caused by autocatalytic nitric acid chemistry resulting from blockage of the waste drum vent. Accidental confinement resulted in 1) rapid acceleration of the nitric acid chemistry, 2) thermal ignition, and 3) radiation dispersal. In this study, we show the autocatalytic nature of the nitric acid-soaked kitty litter and apply our thermal model to predict the thermal runaway. The financial cost of this incident was more than a half a billion US dollars ($500,000,000). Insights gained from this research are relevant to nuclear waste repositories worldwide and provide specific information on explosion safety.
