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WIPP Recovery Manager Jim Blankenhorn told a town hall meeting last week that after several trips into the half-mile-deep repository, officials believe the radiation leak was likely caused by a chemical reaction in nuclear waste that was mixed with nitrate salt. Blankenhorn said a switch from a non-organic substance to organic was what triggered the event.

The unidentified substance containing elements mirroring nitrate salt is kitty litter, Conca said. The DOE on Tuesday confirmed that any waste with liquid is typically treated with "an absorbent like kitty litter."

"I'm just dying to know why this happened and who approved it, because it was a dumb idea," Conca said. "You just can't make a change to the procedure without reviewing it."

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Originally posted by chrisisall:
I mix Fresh Step with my nuclear waste, and I've never had a problem. They were probably using Tidy Cats with the crystals.

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Originally posted by Geezer:
"I'm just dying to know why this happened and who approved it, because it was a dumb idea," Conca said. "You just can't make a change to the procedure without reviewing it."

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