Wipp Team Achieves Halfway Mark for Utility Shaft Sinking

13 Mar 2023


CARLSBAD, N.M. – Progress continues on the new Utility Shaft at EM’s Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) as shaft-sinking crews recently surpassed the midway point at 1,076-feet deep.

“The Utility Shaft or Shaft #5 is of great importance to WIPP and our ability to continue the Department’s critical national mission of safely disposing defense transuranic waste,” said Acting Carlsbad Field Office Manager Mark Bollinger. “When completed, this shaft will be part of the new permanent ventilation system that will allow us to provide critical airflow to the underground workforce.”

When completed, the full shaft depth will be 2,275 feet, with the team now halfway to the WIPP repository depth of 2,150 feet.

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