Nuclear Waste Partnership LLC has been awarded a Department of Energy (DOE) contract to manage and operate the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) located near Carlsbad, New Mexico. The $1.3 billion (around € 990 million) management and operations contract awarded to the consortium runs for five years, with an option for an additional five years. French nuclear major Areva will be part of the consortium.
The WIPP site has since 1999 site disposed of the country’s defence-related life-long waste with medium activity. The Nuclear Waste Partnership consortium (led by URS Corporation) will characterise waste from DOE sites around the country, manage transportation and receipt at WIPP, then carry out final burial in the 2150-foot deep geologic repository.
