WIPP

The origins of the WIPP date to some of the earliest U.S. efforts to address radioactive waste. During the World War II and Cold War decades, national security dictated that speed and secrecy take precedence in weapons production. As a result, the United States often postponed costs and work associated with environmentally responsible disposal of defense-generated radioactive waste. In 1955, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission asked the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to study permanent disposal methods. A resulting NAS report identified bedded salt deposits as a promising medium for geologic disposal.