Nuclear Waste Explosion at WIPP In New Mexico Caused by Kitty Litter Mix-up

http://bit.ly/1zfNXza A nuclear waste explosion that exposed 21 federal workers to radiation was caused by a mix-up in kitty litter brands, according to an official report released late Thursday. The February 2014 incident at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico was one of the highest-profile nuclear contamination releases in recent history and created serious headaches for the Department of Energy (DOE), especially as it is trying to prove that the federal government can successfully manage nuclear waste. Investigators blame the incident on a single drum of nuclear waste shipped to the facility from Los Alamos National Laboratory, also in New Mexico. Scientists frequently use cat litter to absorb nuclear waste in laboratories. But this particular drum contained Swheat Scoop, a brand marketed as “natural” that hadn’t been used before in a nuclear lab. The ingredients in the litter reacted with the nuclear waste to create gases that increased the pressure in the drum and made it explode. http://bit.ly/1IFg13m