Shipments started in 1999.

Drivers tracked about 15 million miles

Mark Beene took his truck across more than a million miles throughout the country.

For most of his 20-year career he drove nuclear waste to the Waste Isolation Pilot near Carlsbad, where it was permanently disposed.

Beene started driving for WIPP in 1990 with CAST Specialty Transportation, a contractor hired to ship transuranic (TRU) waste to WIPP.

Low-level TRU waste is mostly cloth materials used during nuclear operations, and emplaced in WIPP underground salt mine, about 2,000 feet beneath the surface.

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“I really enjoy what I do,” Beene said. “The men and women I work with are an exceptional group of people. We all take great pride in what we do.”

He was recently honored for his 20 years at WIPP, and more than 635,000 miles with CAST and the WIPP project.

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“This is a big accomplishment, and we are very proud of Mark,” said Randahl Mills, CAST Carlsbad terminal manager. “The men and women that make up the WIPP driving team are truly the best. They are second to none.”

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Beene remembered an incident where he avoided joining a 36-car pileup on an interstate, on a foggy day in 2004.

He veered onto the shoulder, waste shipment in tow, to avoid a collision.

He and his partner then helped other motorists in the crash escape their vehicles.

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“I just wanted to do my best to ensure the safety of my partner and me, the shipment, and others in the area,” he said. “I just did what anyone else would have done, especially any of the WIPP drivers. We are trained to handle serious situations.”

WIPP’s truck drivers are required to meet strict, federal driving and background check requirements.

They are also trained for the unique task of carrying nuclear waste to the repository about 25 miles east of Carlsbad, from generator sites across the country.

They must secure the packages, be versed on the use of radiation detection equipment and are taught emergency management practices in case of an incident.

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In total, drivers get 200 hours of training before their first shipments.

Since WIPP’s opening in 1999, 12,500 shipments of TRU waste were made, totaling about 15 million miles, without incident.

The 12,500th shipment came in at about midnight on June 27, originating at Idaho National Laboratory, the biggest source of waste sent to WIPP, with 6,500 shipments.

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“WIPP transportation protocols are among the most stringent in the commercial transportation industry, ensuring each shipment departs generator sites — and arrives at WIPP — completely defect free,” read a news release from the U.S. Department of Energy.

Where does the waste come from?

Here are the total shipments and loaded miles from each generator site that sent nuclear waste to WIPP since 1999.

Argonne National Laboratory, Lemont, Illinois – 195 shipments, 334,773 miles

Bettis Atomic Power Laboratory, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania – 5 shipments, 10,955 miles

GE Vallecitos Nuclear Center, Sunol, California – 32 shipments, 44,800 miles

Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, Idaho – 6,308 shipments, 8.7 million miles

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Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico – 1,363 shipments, 466,146 miles

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, California – 18 shipments, 24,804 miles

Nevada Test Site, Nye County, Nevada – 48 shipments, 57,312 miles

Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee – 212 shipments, 284,716 miles

Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Jefferson County, Colorado – 2,045 shipments, 1.4 million miles

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Hanford Site, Benton County, Washington – 572 shipments, 1.03 million miles

Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico – 8 shipments, 2,000 miles

Savannah River Site, Jackson, North Carolina – 1,664 shipments, 2.5 million miles

Waste Control Specialists, Andrews, Texas – 31 shipments, 3,100 miles

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Adrian Hedden can be reached at 575-628-5516, achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on Twitter.