The Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M., operated by the U.S. Office of Environmental Management, achieved a milestone of having its drivers travel more than 16 million miles without any serious accidents or injuries.

The safe distance covered by the WIPP drivers is equivalent to 33 round trips to the moon or more than 642 trips around the world, the release reported. This accomplishment is a significant milestone for the WIPP and highlights the importance of safety measures in the transportation of hazardous materials.

“The safety of our shipments and operations at WIPP is our top priority,” Carlsbad Field Manager Mark Bollinger said in the release.

CAST Specialty Transportation is the current contractor responsible for transporting TRU (transuranic) waste shipments to the underground waste repository at WIPP, the release reported. The drivers are required to complete nearly 200 hours of training before transporting their first TRU waste shipment. Specific training includes the use of package securement devices, readiation detection equipment and emergency management procedures.

TRU waste contains radioactive materials — mainly plutonium — that have atomic numbers greater than uranium, and is composed of debris, residues, soil and other items that are contaminated with these elements, the release said. WIPP received more than 13,400 TRU shipments from 22 DOE sites arounf the country.

“What is really impressive is if you include the miles driven without waste shipments, it is over 32 million safe miles," Bollinger added, according to the release. "The credit goes to the men and women who transport these shipments on a daily basis; they are the best in the business.”

WIPP was built in the 1980s for the "disposal of defense-generated TRU waste," the release said. The TRU waste is disposed of 2,150 feet underground in rooms mined from the 2,000-foot-thick salt bed the storage space is carved out of. The salt bed formed approximately 250 million years ago.