On Oct. 18, 2022 EMRTC hosted Professional Development Day for NDPC Consortium partners. Thirty-five members participated and were treated to a field trip where they witnessed a series of eight explosions ranging from a blasting cap in grapefruit to 3 ½ pounds ANFO with a C3 Detasheet Booster.
Following the morning explosives demonstration, lunch was held at New Mexico Tech’s new Deju House on campus. During lunch, guests listened to a presentation from Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), an entity that has trained more than 36,000 emergency response professionals since 1988. The training courses sponsored by the DOE focus on all emergency responders who may potentially respond to accidents involving WIPP waste shipments. Classes address incident command, caring for accident victims (both on scene and in the hospital), guarding the public welfare, protecting the environment, and ensuring the safety of responders.
Participants also viewed one of WIPP’s specially-designed trailers. These trailers can carry a total of three Transuranic Package Transporter Model 2s (TRUPACT-IIs) or HalfPACTs, one TRPACT-III or one RH-72B per shipment. Each shipment is inspected to Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance Level VI standards, the industry’s highest level, prior to departing a transuranic (TRU) waste generator site. WIPP uses conventional diesel tractors with these trailers, and tractor cab features include a computer keyboard linking the vehicle with a satellite tracking system. In addition, tractor cabs contain continuous tracking by WIPP’s central control room as well as redundant two-way communication systems.
